Systems thinking:
Systems thinking is an approach to understanding and solving complex problems by examining them as integrated systems rather than isolated individual components. It’s a way of thinking and modeling that considers the relationships and interactions between various elements within a system. Here are some key points about systems thinking:
- Holistic Perspective: Systems thinking looks at the whole system, including its parts and their interconnections, rather than analyzing isolated components separately. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of elements within a system.
- Feedback Loops: Systems often involve feedback loops, which can be either reinforcing (positive feedback) or balancing (negative feedback). These loops play a crucial role in how systems behave over time.
- Emergent Properties: Systems thinking acknowledges that the interactions among components can lead to emergent properties – outcomes or behaviors that are not immediately obvious from looking at individual elements.
- Cause and Effect Relationships: Systems thinking explores the dynamic cause-and-effect relationships within a system. It’s not just about identifying linear causality but understanding how various factors interact and influence each other.
- Boundaries: Systems thinking often defines boundaries for the system under consideration. These boundaries help delineate what’s inside the system and what’s outside. What is considered relevant to the system is within the boundaries.
- Systems Diagrams: Diagrams, such as stock-and-flow diagrams or causal loop diagrams, are commonly used in systems thinking to visualize and model the structure and behavior of a system.
- Interdisciplinary: Systems thinking is an interdisciplinary approach that draws from various fields, including engineering, biology, ecology, management, and social sciences. It can be applied to a wide range of domains to address complex challenges.
- Problem Solving: It’s often used as a problem-solving method to address issues like environmental sustainability, organizational change, healthcare delivery, and more.
- Learning Tool: Systems thinking is also employed as a tool for learning and education. It helps individuals and organizations better understand complex issues and make more informed decisions.
- Pioneers: Early pioneers in systems thinking include Jay Forrester, who developed system dynamics, and Donella Meadows, known for her work in sustainability and the book “The Limits to Growth.”
Overall, systems thinking is a valuable approach for understanding and managing complex, interconnected systems in various fields, enabling a more comprehensive and effective way to address challenges and make decisions.
TASK 1:
Watch the short video: Swansan, J. Systems Thinking.
The point of this exercise is to introduce you to systems thinking and the relevance it may have for you and your work on the course.
What is systems thinking
Instead of approaching the issue with a cause-effect solution, You combat it by “zooming out” and looking at more external factors that cause the issue.
Systems thinking, means tackling an issue in a broader sense and from all possible directions/causes.
For example, why is obesity an issue in the US? Is it merely because people dont exercise? OR could it be explored more culturarly like=
- the qualitty of their food
- the price of junk food vs healthy whole-food
- accessibility to naturally sourced materials
- Non walkable cities
- No motive for exercise in their community (cycling/sports)
- DNA
So if you just tell these people to eat less and excercise, It could work for some, but not at a level where you would see change in your community.
Systems thinking means advocating for more walk-friendly neighborhoods in this case, creating events in the community that help people get together to excercise in a fun way, creating parks, bicycle lanes. –
In parks and rec Lesley tries to ban super unhealthy sports drinks and make people eat healthier, tries to create a park. – She approaches the issue with systems thinking! -melissini’s note lmao
How would i go about aproaching my practise in a “systems thinking” way
Maybe by psychoanalyzing my practice? Although I do not think that is very productive for me.
Why do I paint the way I paint? It just comes to me. I will try to open my mind to this question and come back to it though.
Okay so I have tried to answer this question without putting my self in boxes. I don’t know if its easy.
Why do I create using Oil as my material? Because its easy to blend, change, work over, It doesn’t look cold and still (like acrylic can sometimes look that way to me). It allows for you to work on it again and again, sculpting something without needing to erase a “mistake”. Everything looks moving and blurry and fuzzy, like your interpretation of something in your head (like in your dreams) instead of a picture.
Why do I Paint people, faces? Why do I have a personal style in the aesthetics I create? I don’t know. I observe and my creations are my interpretation of what i see. This is how I see things and maybe you can tell what I focus on.
I will try to think of this question more. I do like to paint and see my culture in what I paint. I have never painted a blue eyed blonde person for example. But that’s only because it hasn’t yet happened, I haven’t felt that aesthetic deeply in order to represent it YET. And maybe those particular aesthetics don’t interest my subconscious as much.
When I paint I don’t look at something for inspiration, I don’t have a reference picture ( I feel that reference pictures are like borders in my head, blocking my creativity and only allowing me to copy what i see). The two factors that tell me what to paint are how I feel and what I see.
I put on music I like, Most times music from my childhood and I paint, I follow the shapes I like into what they will lead me to create, I put colours and create relationships and work accordingl to what I see after each new stroke. If I like what I have put on the canvas then I work around it, If not then I add what I like and look at the piece from afar a a whole, until I like what I see.
For now that is how I analyze my process and motive with my practice.
I don’t think much when I create.
I feel as though the time I am not creating is the time to think, and cultivate emotions and philosophies that then come to you subconsciously when painting.
I believe if I am thinking of what I am creating and why, and what “message” I want to give out, consciously and on purpose, then the work looks too literal and “childish”.
To me the time spent not working on a piece. The time spent with your friends, going about your day, arguing, laughing, experiencing the ups and downs of your day to day and the work that goes into reacting and understanding your emotions and relationships with others IS still work you do for your practice.
It just isn’t too literal and obvious. Because your art is a projection of your emotions. Not your thoughts. And what you cultivate in that day to day is your entire personhood and how you handle those emotions.
DAAAAAAAMN. i DID THAT!
I realize now after reading ALL OF THAT. That I was able to sort of understand my practice better, through Systems Thinking. I didn’t see that coming. Well played Marsha.
TASK 2:
look up context and pictures of leaning(??? )
Here’s a picture of leaning —->
Leaning has a lot of possible meanings? Do we mean an inclination to do something? Do we mean to depend on someone?
I foraged (slay) in Google scholar by looking up the word “Leaning” and what do you know. The library angels are at WORK.
The first thing i found is this book titled
Leaning:
A Poetics of Personal Relations
ByRonald J PeliasAnd here is what the book is about:
Ronald J Pelias explores leaning as a metaphor for analyzing interpersonal interaction. Bodies leaning toward one another are engaged, developing the potential for long-lasting, meaningful relationships. But this ideal is not often realized. Pelias makes use of a wide variety of tools such as personal narrative, autoethnography, poetic inquiry and performative writing in his exploration of the physical space of relationships. This deeply personal work is essential for scholars and students of qualitative research and autoethnography.
Turns out the text i found is literally the next task for reading. OOP
Lets start with this text then.
PROLOGUE NOTES:
Leaning: How bodies place themselves in relation to others.
Leaning towards others carries the greatest potential for meaningful relationships.
When I lean, I am an attentive, engaging listening presence.
“I find myself always asking how my body stands in relation to others” “I seek a comfortable fit, Although that’s not always possible” “When I lean in, I want to hold a positive sense of myself. If I don’t I want to pull away”
(THIS IS ALL BODY LANGUAGE, SENSUAL INFORMATION- in relation to week 1’s findings)
Cultural markers= RACE GENDER RELIGION ETC encourage/ discourage particular leanings.
I find myself leaning towards those who share my ways of seeing. Our bodies come together and forge alliances.
We bond SETTLE together, armed with the strength of our commonality.
IN PARTNNERSHIP, WE RESIST THOSE WHO MIGHT PUSH US IN DIRECTIONS WE’D RATHER NOT GO.
So leaning WITH others then becomes a personal comfort and a political force!!
Affinity (comfortable compatibility) breeds conviction and institutionalizes power
( Not sure what this means?)
Affinity comes with the risks of personal blindness, political indoctrination, empty associations.
It comes as little surprise, then, that I find myself leaning on others. To stand, I may need help. To speak, I may need guidance. To be, I need love. I depend upon others for their support, their companionship.
I need others, and I want others to need me, to lean on and with me, to find my body a place of trust and comfort, a place where love might flourish.
LANGUAGING RELATIONSHIPS.
TASK 3:
READ:
Day 10: Touch from Olsen, Andrea (2020) Body and Earth: An Experiential Guide.The importance of touch and the body
ΑΦΗ !!
To know through touch … is to understand better.
Touch provides immediate physical objective information, basic to our survival, discerning weight, size, texture, and temperature.
Communication is observed in hands, whether in touch or in gesture, sometimes in direct contrast to words.
Intention is expressed through the body.
touch deprivation affects physical and emotional development and can result in retardation or death.
The text had a few excercises to do that would remind you of the importnace of the sence of touch.
One of them is to caress an object you hold dear, with your eyes closed and then with your eyes open. What associations do you make?
When my eyes are closed I only think of the way I perceive the objects, not its actual look, I am reminded of emotions and memories more than I am reminded of the exact geometry and look of the object. Not looking at the object made me caress it carefully and realise a few textural details I had never payed attention to.
WHEN WE TOUCH SOMETHING WE ARE ALWAYS TOUCHED BACK!
READ:
Paterson, M. (2009) ‘Haptic geographies: ethnography, haptic knowledges and sensuous dispositions’, Progress in Human Geography, 33(6): pp. 766-788. This paper is the first overview of the treatment of haptic knowledges in geography,
responding to bodily sensations and responses that arise through the embodied researcher.
Haptic= relating to touch.
The author discusses the limitations of language in expressing these experiences and emphasizes the difficulties arising from the dominance of visual metaphors in Western culture.
The article introduces the concept of “haptic geographies,” delving into the haptic, or tactile, aspects of embodied experiences and their implications for research methods. It traces the development of “haptic knowledges” in the context of fieldwork and explores the somatic sensations involved in bodily activities. The author clarifies the term “haptic” beyond cutaneous touch, encompassing internally felt bodily sensations.
The text also examines the historical development and interconnectedness of the haptic system’s components, including kinaesthesia (sense of movement), proprioception (sense of bodily position), and the vestibular system (sense of balance). The overarching goal is to provide a more defined framework for understanding and incorporating haptic knowledges in empirical research.
utilize the body as a “research instrument” (Crang, 2003) or a “tool for gaining insights into research subjects and their geographies” (Longhurst et al., 2008)
In western societies we put a focus more on what we see than what we feel with our bodies.
OCULARCENTRISM.
The sensorium, defined as “the subject’s way of coordinating all the body’s perceptual and proprioceptive signals,” is culturally variable and continuously shifting (Jones, 2007: 8). It is influenced by societal rules, technological mediation, and the physical environment. This variability not only impacts the reflexivity of the embodied ethnographer in fieldwork but also influences the interpretation of linguistic constructions, cultural variations, and power relations.
Stoller (2004: 820) suggests that sensuous descriptions enhance the clarity and force of ethnographic representations and the analysis of power relations. Acknowledging sensuous ethnographies as potentially groundbreaking opens up innovative possibilities for thinking, writing, and reflecting on previously overlooked aspects of human experience.
Sensuous ethnography, in bearing witness to social trauma, abuse, and repression, has the potential to shock readers into newfound awareness.
In summary, the renewed attention to sensuous scholarship offers a rich avenue for understanding and representing human experience beyond the visual bias, acknowledging the diverse ways in which individuals engage with and make sense of their surroundings.
Performing ethnographies capture the bodily experiences of walking, with examples illustrating the fluidity and ease of movement discussing how sensory experiences are intertwined during this everyday activity.
The author talks about how we understand feelings and experiences in a way that doesn’t rely on traditional ways of explaining things. They focus on how our sensations and feelings change over time and how new technologies play a role.
It introduces the idea that our feelings are not just about immediate sensations but also about how our bodies have learned to feel over time.
The text also says that touch is not just about feeling things but is a way of knowing and performing. It talks about how touch is connected to our memories and helps us make a connection with places.
To wrap up, the writer suggests three things to think about for future studies on haptic geographies. First, researchers can share their bodily feelings using introspective methods, sort of like looking inside themselves. Second, it’s important to understand that experiences can be complex and different, so we shouldn’t stick to standard terms. We should explore the actual experience of doing things during fieldwork.
TEAMS MEETING WITH ANNA MACDONALD/ MA PERFORMANCE SOCIETY:
Introducing Somatic research methods.
We watched 2 videos that showed multiple peoples literal soma-σώμα ( Greek for body) leaning on one another.
Also objects leaning on eachother. A man being entrapped by a contraption that is made of objects leaning and pulled onto one another. ( an old fashioned animal trap).
I do not particularly feel very moved by these examples as they get their point across quite literally but i really enjoy the conversation and multiple ways we can interpret the word leaning in each context.
We then performed multiple meditation exercises. While being instructed and guided through them by Anna. I meditate daily so I really enjoyed this exercise.
And lastly we all performed as leaning sculptures along 3 different objects. Performing is not at all how I express my self so this didn’t really my thing but I really enjoyed seeing the multple creative ways others interpreted leaning with their bodies.
Here is a poem i feel reflects how i interpret the meaning of this lecture.
“Δόξα στ’ ανθρώπου το κορμί! Στη σάρκα,
που σαν καλοκυβέρνητο καράβι
σιδερένιο στα παλάτια του πελάγου
βαστάει του ανέμου τους δαρμούς, του δρόμους
και τα λιοπύρια.Δόξα στα χέρια, ω χέρια προκομμένα,
σα σπαθιά δυνατά και σαν αλέτρια,
στα πόδια, που ματώνεστε περνώντας
τα φτερά, δόξα στο χορταριασμένο
βράχο του στήθους.
Το φέγγος του ματιού και του προσώπου
την αντρίκια ψυχή και του στομάτου
τ΄ οργισμένο τ’ ανάκρασμα δοξάζω,
των Ηρακλειδών τα ραβδιά, τα νιάτα
των Αντινόων.
Δοξάζω το κορμί, που αποτολμάει
στη μέρα αγνάντια ολόγυμνο, απ’ τ’ αρπάγι
άγγιχτο της ακάθαρτης Αρρώστιας,
θεϊκά να μετρηθεί με τη γαλήνη
των αγαλμάτων.
Στο κορμί δόξα, ρόδο της Υγείας,
και απέραντο χαμόγελο της Ύλης,
και σύγνεφο, που κλει τ’ αστροπελέκι,
στο Πνεύμα, πόγινε από πλάστης πλάσμα,
στο κορμί δόξα!
Στο κορμί δόξα, που και κείνο πλάθει
με την ορμή της πύρινης αγάπης
τα ωραία παιδιά, τα λιονταροθρεμένα παλικάρια,
τους πολέμους, τις νίκες, και τις πατρίδες!”