The Latin notion genius loci, meaning ‘spirit of place’, signifies a certain connection and relationship between spirit (-s) and (a) place, Humans and Environment. The acient Romans used the term as a denomination for a (mythological) spirit-protector of a certain place. In my research, I like to elaborate much further on this basic-definition and define ‘Spirit of Place’ in a much broader sense. Keyelements in the concept of genius loci are the spiritual and material relationships people have with their surroundings and which is constructed through – often a symbiotic or contrasting – complex multilevel relationship with the natural environment.
Landscape, culture/nature, space/place, urban/countryside divide, etc. play a keyrole in my researchconcept and are investigatede through (accounts of) Phenomenological ‘spiritual’ experiences as well as material relationships and interactions with a place. The canvas against which this research is set, is the contemporary world of Meta-Modernism and Hyper-Diversity with its challenges, problems and opportunities for humanity during the era of the Anthropocene.
In an era of conflicting material (social, economic, political, … systems) and immaterial (philosophical, religious, … beliefsystems) worlds, I explicitly and consciously avoid this classic dichotomies. Instead I want to focus on human spirituality, which in my opinion precedes ánd goes beyond any of the economic, political or classic (world-) religious systems and besides that it is as a universal human need also much richer in scope. In addition to this focus on spirituality there is a particular interest in my research for underexposed beliefsystems such as animism or shamanism, but also for ‘phenomenological, visceral human experiences and (sometimes) epiphanies’ in relation to a particular landscape or certain natural environments. The ‘eco-‘ in eco-spiritualities is to be understood as the natural environment – ranging on a spectrum from ‘untouched’ to ‘heavily influcenced (and in some cases destroyed) by human activity’ – that forms an interconnected, reciproke and symbiotic network for (and with) humans and all other living beeings.
Contemporary, unprecedented and ongoing mass-destruction of natural worlds, the increasing scarcety of ‘open spaces’ – in a literal and figurative sense – and in many ways the disentchantement of human civilisation through ever more emerging digitalised surveillance regimes combined with globalized mass production and consumption (to name but a few), press the urge to not only (audio-visual) document but also and mainly (re-)construct alternative approaches of human sensemaking and sociocultural ‘identitybuilding’ in an intersubjective way and through ‘sensere interaction’ (symbiotic and spiritual) with the natural world. One could consider it as a (minor) Eco-Spiritual Turn whitin the field (whilst avoiding to be to ambitious). Whether or not social scientific insight can be generated through this approach, at least it will (hopefully) lead to the future preservation of not only valuable land (-scapes) but also the cultural memory of other lifeways and -worlds that can serve as a counterweight to the predominent contemporary discourse of (over-) commodification and consumption resulting in a new form of alienation. Maybe it can become an inspiration for more viable solutions to the threthening challenges of the Anthropocene.
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