title: Solastalgia: International Humanitarian Law, Conflict and the Fabric of Life

authors: Alvarez-Jimenez, Alberto

subjects: Dance

abstract: Solastalgia: Conflict and the Fabric of Life was a transdisciplinary project, engaging academics and artists from the fields of law and arts (dance, visual arts, photography and painting). The project evolved over five years, utilising a variety of research activities and methods of investigation, with embodied experience at the heart of the research. As the research progressed, the pivot point became the investigation of the concept of solastalgia – the civilian experience of pain and distress caused by destruction of home and home environments. This research project grew from our curiosity concerning how embodied investigation of international humanitarian law might inform our understanding of civilian experiences in armed conflict, particularly considering the legal principles of distinction and proportionality. Drawing from the perspectives of the academic disciplines involved, this article outlines the evolution of the project. It documents and expresses the transdisciplinary methods the researchers and artists engaged with.

text: Solastalgia: International Humanitarian Law, Conflict and the Fabric of Life Solastalgia: Conflict and the Fabric of Life was a transdisciplinary project, engaging academics and artists from the fields of law and arts (dance, visual arts, photography and painting). The project evolved over five years, utilising a variety of research activities and methods of investigation, with embodied experience at the heart of the research. As the research progressed, the pivot point became the investigation of the concept of solastalgia – the civilian experience of pain and distress caused by destruction of home and home environments. This research project grew from our curiosity concerning how embodied investigation of international humanitarian law might inform our understanding of civilian experiences in armed conflict, particularly considering the legal principles of distinction and proportionality. Drawing from the perspectives of the academic disciplines involved, this article outlines the evolution of the project. It documents and expresses the transdisciplinary methods the researchers and artists engaged with.

year: 2026-03-25

title: Narrative persuasiveness without a narrative essence: A rejoinder to Talbi’s “Recognizing Something Human”

authors: Ulatowski, Joseph W.

subjects: disagreement

abstract: Merel Talbi’s (2024a) main article, “The Epistemic Import of Narratives,” concerns how narratives of personal experience can be persuasive in reaching across a significant social or political divide. A primary goal of the article was to defend their role and value against the assumption that our form of argument must be based on logic and science. At the same time, she alerts us to some dangers associated with the use of such narratives, which she develops in her response (2024b) to us (2024b), a theme that we shall discuss, recognising the political context in which these situations occur. What she identifies as the main difference between us about the persuasiveness of narratives of personal experience may be framed as a question: what are the relative contributions of the narrative form and the personal quality? 

We shall return to that question by way of a reframing which avoids the assumption that there is an essence of narrative structure. En route to that topic we shall look at ideas about how narratives may mesh well with the structure of the human mind. That will include Schechtman’s (2024) ideas about fiction as a process which mirrors the way human memory works. It will also include the thought that the self is a product of narrative self-creation. This may suggest that narratives can be persuasive given that they mesh well with our makeup. However our makeup is described, we hold that there is no essence of narrative structure that explains persuasiveness, for it comes down to the particularities of the situation. Narratives can occur in a variety of situations and a variety of forms; accounting narratives represent one kind of narrative with a distinct form and function. While there is no essence of a narrative that is linked to persuasiveness, narratives in particular situations certainly can be persuasive, as indeed they are designed to be.

text: Narrative persuasiveness without a narrative essence: A rejoinder to Talbi’s “Recognizing Something Human” Merel Talbi’s (2024a) main article, “The Epistemic Import of Narratives,” concerns how narratives of personal experience can be persuasive in reaching across a significant social or political divide. A primary goal of the article was to defend their role and value against the assumption that our form of argument must be based on logic and science. At the same time, she alerts us to some dangers associated with the use of such narratives, which she develops in her response (2024b) to us (2024b), a theme that we shall discuss, recognising the political context in which these situations occur. What she identifies as the main difference between us about the persuasiveness of narratives of personal experience may be framed as a question: what are the relative contributions of the narrative form and the personal quality? 

We shall return to that question by way of a reframing which avoids the assumption that there is an essence of narrative structure. En route to that topic we shall look at ideas about how narratives may mesh well with the structure of the human mind. That will include Schechtman’s (2024) ideas about fiction as a process which mirrors the way human memory works. It will also include the thought that the self is a product of narrative self-creation. This may suggest that narratives can be persuasive given that they mesh well with our makeup. However our makeup is described, we hold that there is no essence of narrative structure that explains persuasiveness, for it comes down to the particularities of the situation. Narratives can occur in a variety of situations and a variety of forms; accounting narratives represent one kind of narrative with a distinct form and function. While there is no essence of a narrative that is linked to persuasiveness, narratives in particular situations certainly can be persuasive, as indeed they are designed to be.

year: 2025

title: Hapū data sovereignty: Tips for getting started

authors: Clark, Vanessa

abstract: This brief is a part of a series, produced for the Tikanga in Technology (TiNT) research programme, that provides a hapū perspective on data sovereignty, data governance, and data privacy. The purpose is to provide practical advice for individuals, whānau, marae and hapū who are embarking on their own hapū data sovereignty kaupapa, with a particular focus on whakapapa data.

text: Hapū data sovereignty: Tips for getting started This brief is a part of a series, produced for the Tikanga in Technology (TiNT) research programme, that provides a hapū perspective on data sovereignty, data governance, and data privacy. The purpose is to provide practical advice for individuals, whānau, marae and hapū who are embarking on their own hapū data sovereignty kaupapa, with a particular focus on whakapapa data.

year: 2025-02-11