Proposed title: Performing the Anthropocene:human and non-human animal interactions in the Corbières region of France
Throughout my time as a student of photography since September 2017, I have enjoyed working on the range of projects I have engaged with. I find project work an ideal way for me to learn many different aspects of the art and craft of being a photographer. As I came towards the completion of the MA Photography at Falmouth University in August 2023, I began to realise that my apprenticeship in Photography remained a work in progress and that I wished to continue being challenged, to learn and to be creative.
I presented an application to Falmouth University Institute of Photography for a studentship withing their ENVIRO/ PHOTO doctoral research brief. I successfully passed through the application processes and in July 2023, the university wrote to offer me a place on my chosen doctoral programme to start on 1st October that year.
The first year of the Falmouth doctorate has consisted of an extensive programme of workshops around research topics plus completion of the process of registering the thesis titles, developing a research ethics strategy, completing a risk assessment, and presenting an update of my work at a summer symposium (this blog entry is based on that update). The second year commences in September 2024 by when I hope to be in full PhD research mode.
In the Corbières, the impact of anthropogenic climate change has reached a critical stage. Its effect on the landscape and on the ability to thrive of animal and plant life within it is palpable. And the situation is exacerbated by […] more
Five threads from my previous experience led me to this project: In southern France, the climate emergency has delivered increasing insecurity. Over successive years we have had prolonged summer heatwaves with exceptionally high temperatures, and lack of rain leading to […] more
I shall investigate these interactive patterns of actions or ‘performances’ (Madeira, 2022), using a New Materialist theoretical framework. A key characteristic of this approach is that it will enable me to move beyond anthropocentricism and employ qualitative methods to help […] more
Recognising the relative decline of viticulture, during the 1990s the Aude departmental council began a push to develop tourism as an alternative player in the local economy. This coincided with the EEC[1]’s Set-aside policy which was an incentive scheme to help reduce the […] more
Lionel Ormières, again in L’Independant, wrote in August 2022 about how the heat and drought were raising the risk of damage caused by wild boar (Ormières, 2022a). In his piece, Ormières points to the lack of water and food caused […] more
The above examples offer vignettes of human and non-human animal interaction in the Corbières region of France in an era of climate change and environmental degradation. As I investigate further, I will use photography as both a research method and […] more
