Due to a number of ASWA members not being able to attend the first Social Surroundings Presentation, Robin Stevens has agreed to a second presentation on this topic, to a restricted audience, aimed at the professional development of ASWA members.

When: Wednesday 21st July - Further details about venue and time soon
Title: Social Surroundings 2 - Aesthetic Values

Abstract:The definition of ‘social surroundings’ in the Environmental Protection Act (1986) includes “aesthetic, cultural, economic and social surroundings”. Though the term ’aesthetics’ is commonly associated with notions of beauty and the arts, it refers more broadly to one’s sensory experiences and knowledge of the world. Meyer (2006) suggests that there are ‘grammars of sensing’ and that aesthetics modulate the body and tune the senses in a particular way. Atkinson (2015) argues that all societies have an ‘aesthetic order’, and that ‘patterns of culture’ are in part predicated on local definitions and assumptions about aesthetic values. As White (2003) notes in respect of Yolngu aesthetic perspectives on country: “the problem of cross-cultural communication extends to aesthetics, especially with respect to natural phenomena, and associated issues of the importance of ‘place’”.

Drawing on sensory anthropology (e.g., Pink 2009 and Howes & Classen 2014) we will workshop how one might capture and evaluate Aboriginal aesthetics in the context of a ‘social surroundings’ assessment. Further reference material is in the Social Surroundings 2 - Aesthetic Values Abstract.

Cost: ASWA/AACAI Member or student: $10, Non-member: $15. On-line bookings available soon.

Entry fee covers food after the presentation
Please contact ASWA's event organiser Tania Philips if you require any further information.

See you all there.