Half article day; two article projects likely cancelled

Today I have had half an article writing day, with a little preparation done for my chapter "Neurosemiotics across species". I also realized that two year-old article projects (with data collection dating back some five years), "Proto-language in wolves" and "Synchronicity in human perception of animals", will likely not materialize, for one thing due to a poorly planned research design during data collection.

Planning of two wolf-themed articles

Today I took part in a Skype call with a colleague (should have been two) to plan for two belated wolf-themed articles we are co-writing based on video material from Wolf Park and our own field work with video-recorded interviews in Norway.

Paper "Synchronicity in human perception of animals" presented at IVSA 2016

I have just presented my paper "Synchronicity in human perception of animals" at IVSA 2016, the annual conference of the International Visual Sociology Association (Lillehammer June 22-24th). Some 12 people were present.

"Synchronicity in human perception of animals" paper scheduled for presentation June 23rd

My paper "Synchronicity in human perception of animals" has been scheduled for presentation at IVSA 2016 Thursday, June 23rd at 09.30-10.00, in Parallel session 4A, "Nature, perception and responsiveness", to be chaired by Liz Barber, University of Queenslands, Australia.

Abstract "Synchronicity in human perception of animals" online at IVSA 2016 pages

My abstract "Synchronicity in human perception of animals", for IVSA 2016 (International Visual Sociology Association), to be held at Lillehammer University College in the end of June, is now online on the conference webpage.

”Synchronicity in human perception of animals” paper scheduled for presentation April 22

My paper ”Synchronicity in human perception of animals” has been scheduled for presentation at NoSP 2016: Phenomenology and Beyond (Reykjavik April 21-23) on Friday April 22nd at 12.15-12.45 (in the session “Phenomenological Approaches to the Anthropological Difference”, convened by Cristian Ciocan).

"Synchronicity" paper accepted for presentation at IVSA 2016

I have been informed that my paper "Synchronicity in human perception of animals" has been accepted as a paper presentation at IVSA 2016 - Visualizing Sustainability: Imagined Futures (Lillehammer University College, Norway, June 22-24th 2016).

Abstract for IVSA 2016: "Synchronicity in human perception of animals"

I have just submitted the abstract below to the organizers of IVSA (The International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA) 2016 (Lillehammer, Norway, June 22-24).

Synchronicity in human perception of animals

By Morten Tønnessen, Associate professor of philosophy, University of Stavanger

This paper presents findings from 13 video-recorded interviews conducted Spring 2015 in Norway focused on the respondents´ perception of wolves and related animals which are often perceived to be in conflict with wolves. The interviews were conducted in the rural municipalities Kautokeino (Finnmark county) and Rendalen (Hedmark), and the urban municipalities Stavanger (Rogaland) and Kristiansand (Vest-Agder). The respondents were shown images, video-clips and audio featuring wolves, elk, dogs, sheep, reindeer and people, and prompted to explain what they saw and/or heard. In the course of these verbal explanations, accompanied by telling body language, it becomes clear how the respondents sought e.g. to determine the species of featured animals, or understand the situation on display.

I will demonstrate different ways in which human perception of animals is synchronized, and show examples involving simultaneous display of multiple screens and video-recordings. A study of synchronicity in human perception of animals can reveal patterns and tendencies in such perception, and inform us about the respondents´ identity, attitudes and self-understanding. By making use of parameters including geography, demography, occupation and hobbies, this study sheds light on the ways in which human self-understanding is always based in part on our ideas about animals.

Acknowledgements: This work has been carried out thanks to the support of the research project Animals in Changing Environments: Cultural Mediation and Semiotic Analysis (EEA Norway Grants/Norway Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 under project contract no. EMP151). Paul Thibault took part in designing and conducting the interviews; Laura Kiiroja contributed by cataloguing the video-recorded interviews.

Reykjavik paper on Norwegian wolf field work accepted

Today I´ve been informed that our panel “Phenomenological Approaches to the Anthropological Difference”, convened by Cristian Ciocan, has been accepted. This implies that my paper "Synchronicity in human perception of animals" has been accepted for presentation at the 14th annual conference of the Nordic Society for Phenomenology: “Phenomenology and Beyond” (Reykjavik, Iceland 21‐23 April, 2016).

See also:

Abstract for NoSP 2016: "Synchronicity in human perception of animals"

Abstract for NoSP 2016: "Synchronicity in human perception of animals"

In the end of November, I composed the abstract below, for Phenomenology and beyond: 14th annual conference of the Nordic Society for Phenomenology, to be held at University of Iceland, Reykjavík,  21–23 April 2015.

***

Synchronicity in human perception of animals

Abstract

By Morten Tønnessen, Associate professor of philosophy, University of Stavanger, Norway

Part of the panel "Phenomenological Approaches to the Anthropological Difference”, convened by Cristian Ciocan

This paper presents findings from 13 video-recorded interviews conducted Spring 2015 in Norway focused on the respondents´ perception of wolves and related animals which are often perceived to be in conflict with wolves. The interviews were conducted in the rural municipalities Kautokeino (Finnmark county) and Rendalen (Hedmark county), and the urban municipalities Stavanger (Rogaland county) and Kristiansand (Vest-Agder county). In the interviews, the respondents were shown images, video-clips and audio featuring wolves, elk, dogs, sheep, reindeer and people, and prompted to explain what they saw and/or heard. In the course of these verbal explanations, accompanied by telling body language, it becomes clear how the respondents sought to interpret the media material and e.g. determine the species of featured animals, or understand the situation on display.

I will demonstrate different ways in which human perception of animals is synchronized, and show examples involving simultaneous display of multiple screens and video-recordings. A study of synchronicity in human perception of animals can reveal patterns and tendencies in such perception, and inform us about the respondents´ identity, attitudes and self-understanding. By making use of parameters including geography, demography (gender, age etc.), occupation and hobbies, this study sheds light on the ways in which human self-understanding is always based in part on our ideas about, and perception of, animals.

Acknowledgements: This work has been carried out thanks to the support of the research project Animals in Changing Environments: Cultural Mediation and Semiotic Analysis (EEA Norway Grants/Norway Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 under project contract no. EMP151). Paul Thibault took part in designing and conducting the interviews; Laura Kiiroja contributed by cataloguing the video-recorded interviews.