Description
The project is needed because a new theoretical and methodological approaches to tackle new emerging relationships amongst humans, the nature and the environments; is needed in time of crises. The main objective of the project is to write a set of theories in social anthropology and to establish a common methodology to approach these new relationships. It is expected that the project should be able to contribute in filling the new gaps existing in social anthropology as regards the topic of interest. The project address these challenges held a workshop and a conference to get an overview of existing data on ethnographic case studies presented by researchers for developing a comparative ethnographic study. The main beneficiaries of the project will be the scientific community. The project should contribute to future joint research activities between partner and donor partner The donor partner, University of Oslo, and project promoter Autonomus University of Barcelona, will contribute its know-how and many years of experience in conducting investigations in anthropology of justice with special emphasis on environmental studies and new economies. The research experience of the donor partner scientists is very strong as well as the closeness of theoretical and methodological approaches among researchers involved.
Summary of project results
The purpose of the project is to establish a shared platform with the view to compete together for European funding. Taking the environmental and economic crisis as a framework, the main goal of this research platform is to address from a renewed theoretical and methodological approach the new relationships that emerge between society and the environment through new economic practices that look for a more sustainable model. A lecture, a workshop and a meeting were organized. As a result, the flashpoint issues were identified. These converge around food and sustainability as they unfold primarily as local responses to global challenges, at the “interface” of production – distribution – consumption, or perhaps as efforts to overcome such distinctions in order to achieve social and environmental justice. A key approach is the comparison between related initiative in Northern and Southern Europe. This is an unexplored field, and while we have a lot of commonalities in relation to capitalism, there are important differences in relation to EU-membership. Relations to state, trust, and currently also in relation to the lived experience of the aftermath of the financial crisis. Finally, while the focus is primarily European policies concerning environmental and agricultural management, partners shall also pay attention to the effects of such policies elsewhere, through animal feed production and distribution. The focal issues were widely discussed during the meeting with the heads of different research centres and research teams from the Department of Social Anthropology, the Overheating project, and Centre of Development and Environment, as well as from the National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO). It was agreed to produce a more specific 2-3 page collaborative platform statement about the common ground, including some key research questions, theoretical concerns, and some sort of empirical delineation. The results of the project will be sustained through empirical ethnographic data gathered ant to be gathered in the frame of the forecasted research activities and the cooperation activities resulting from this. These results help understand better the notion of sustainability and its paradoxes at different levels and scales. The theories and methodological tools to add5ress this issue through empirical ethnographic data enable to assess the social practice of sustainability at the interface of production – distribution – consumption.
Summary of bilateral results
A partner at the Autonomous University of Barcelona visited the partner at the University of Oslo. The results of the project contribute in filling the gap existing in social anthropology as regards the topic of interest, above all considering that ethnographic comparison between Northern and Southern Europe is an unexplored field: Although crisis is lived differently, concerns on social, ecological and economic sustainability emerge both in the Northern and in the Southern Europe. The complexity, different scaling and scope of this phenomenon require new theoretical and methodological tools. The project has contributed to establish the basis for a set of theoretical/methodological approaches which are paramount for the planned future joint research activities and those derived from it. In the frame of the networking that has been built during the project, partners are preparing a proposal to apply for European funding. Wider cooperation from different research centres from Oslo University have been incorporated, and the incorporation of international researcher from Southern and Shoutheastern Europe and possible from Canada is planned. This international collaboration will provide a more wide scope to the forecasted future research proposal and activities resulting from it.