A disconnected journey

Driving is a dynamic human experience. The act of operating a vehicle, our movement across space and time, and the landscapes we pass afford rich sensory experiences. However, an increasingly controlled environment in the car and on roads is diminishing many sensuous encounters of orientation, sound, smell, touch, and even sight. The growing emphasis on transport infrastructure that prioritises speed, safety, comfort and convenience – dual carriageways, bypasses, ring roads, tunnels and sound barriers – is serving to disconnect us from our journeys as emplaced experiences. These changes are leading to starkly homogeneous journeys devoid of character that result in a loss of experience and place. In this paper we examine the sensory engagement and experiences of car journeys across landscapes, considering both urban and rural environments. Using case studies from different regions of Australia, we examine the bodily experiences of modern motoring. We suggest that there is no longer an immediate engagement with the landscape being traversed. With particular consideration of understanding places in an embodied way, we consider how modernised highways are disconnecting us from developing and maintaining meaning in our understanding of roads as a significant form of heritage, and as an important mechanism through which people experience heritage.     

旅途开心果

<正>我却吻到了老农妇三个老外一边喝酒一边吹牛,美国人说:我们国家的火车最快,开起来后,路两旁的电线杆看上去就像篱笆一样。法国人说:我们国家的火车才叫快,开起来后要赶紧向铁轨上泼水,否则铁轨就会融化。英国人站了起来:那算什么,有一次我在国内旅行,老婆送我上车,我从车里探出头     

非爱不可

在南非大草原苍茫的天地间说出“我愿意”;与爱人携手漫步在好望角,让大西洋和印度洋成为爱的见证;登上一班蒸汽火车深入广袤神秘的旷野之中,迎着落日在列车上重温古老的传奇和优雅时光,一对爱侣的甜蜜之路,在影星任重的见证之下,浪漫开启。     

东南亚植物造就新旅程

一次次流连东南亚,追逐阳光沙滩海岛、沉溺购物饕餮美食……你可曾留意那无处不在、成就了丰饶东南亚的一个个绿色身影？何不循着这些天赐的奇珍异果,探索这片土地上每一个国度特有的气质与内涵,成就一次绿色的旅行轨迹：如咖啡般深沉丰沛的印度尼西亚、如木瓜般清香悠长的越南、     

A lone ranger: My journey towards becoming a feminist geographer in Nairobi,Kenya

Abstract

Very few Kenyan universities offer modules on Gender or Feminism in their courses. Women are largely under-represented and very few hold senior positions. Due to the few numbers of female faculty, mentorship for young female scholars is lacking. Feminist writing by Female Kenyan geographers in professional geography journals is limited. Collective action among female geography faculty is also largely absent. This is largely due to the lack of feminist advocacy and policies in the universities. My journey to becoming a feminist geographer has received little or no support from the university. I have taken personal initiatives to link up with local and transnational gender associations in order to get insights on current feminist scholarship issues. My lived feminist experience and observations of the struggles of ordinary women in everyday livelihood negotiation have been my main motivation for continuing to do feminist work. Thus, my feminist work has concentrated on women in marginal economic informality. This paper presents my journey as a feminist geographer. It begins with a discussion on the state of feminist geography in three universities in Kenya namely, University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University and Egerton University. This is followed by a presentation of my journey toward becoming a feminist geographer in the absence of a supportive infrastructure. My journey has been inspired by my lived experience. The paper concludes with a call for a concerted effort for feminist advocacy in Kenyan Geography departments.     

西行乐事

<正>"起床了!起床了!"美夏的一声吆喝,让大家想起已经不是在家里温暖的床上了。出来摄影就是想赶个好光景,哪有你睡懒觉的工夫,于是,大家一骨碌爬起来,胡乱擦把脸登车出发,向着下一个目标前行。     

松布同志,请一路走好

政协青海省委员会原副主席松布,因病医治无效,于2005年4月5日4时43分在西宁逝世,享年83岁。松布同志1921年11月出生于青海省互助土族自治县加定乡庄浪滩村一个农民家庭。1925年认定为互助县佑宁寺第六世松布活佛,1945年任佑宁寺法台。1950年10月参加工作。1950年10月至1955年9月任青海省人民政府监察委员会委员、副主任;1955年9月至1965年11月任青海省民委副主任;     

The journey as a transcultural experience for international students

An international two-year Erasmus Mundus MA, Transcultural European Outdoor Studies (TEOS), uses the journey as a central metaphorical concept, the “peregrinatio academica”, and experiential pedagogy. Students study human nature interactions through the lens of outdoor education and recreation while travelling for a semester at a time in three European countries: England, Norway and Germany. We argue that the transcultural concept is facilitated by the diverse nationalities of the student cohort and the concept and experience of the journey. Empirical evidence from student feedback, course discussions, and staff reflections is used to explore the ways in which the programme elucidates ideas of expert and Eurocentric knowledge of landscape and learning by valuing individual knowledge constructions and new research. Simultaneously, we argue that the typical European “gaze” on the “other” somehow is reversed as “others” gaze at European cultures, and, to some degree, contribute to destabilizing culturally taken-for-granted knowledge. This offers new opportunities for a more nuanced transcultural exploration of human nature interactions in diverse landscapes and cultures. We conclude that the knowledge and skills developed by this programme supports the development of “transculturalized” students with the enhanced capacity to shift between and discuss diverse positions and ways of viewing and knowing.