Authors: Dace Dzenovska
Location: Eastern Europe
Themes: Capitalism, Postsocialism
The concept of 'emptiness' conjures up a rich archive of meanings – from chaos before order, to 'empty lands' settled by colonial modernizers, to the existential emptiness of modern subjects. It is a malleable and generative concept that connects things that are not the same, but may be of the same kind.
Authors: Dace Dzenovska
Location: Eastern Europe, Latvia
Themes: Capitalism, Postsocialism, The Future
As a social formation, emptiness consists of: (1) an observable reality wherein places rapidly lose their constitutive elements (people, infrastructure, services, social networks, and the future); (2) a way of life that emerges in response to such changes, which seem irreversible; and (3) an emic interpretive framework for making sense of the new reality.
Authors: Dace Dzenovska
Location: Latvia
It refers to material reality, insofar as one can see homes without people and tracks without trains. It denotes the dispersal of social relations – without thick networks of friends and neighbors, lives become emptier.... Some people say that the abandoned homes make them feel anxious, even a little nauseous.
Authors: Dace Dzenovska
Location: Latvia
Themes: Affect, Migration, Planning, Postsocialism
If you would like to find out more about the project or contribute a blog on a resonant aspect of your own research to the Field Reports section of our website, please get in touch by writing to emptiness@anthro.ox.ac.uk.