Emptiness

Emptiness: Capitalism without people in the Latvian countryside

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.

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The Timespace of Emptiness

Authors: Dace Dzenovska

Location: Latvia

Themes: Affect, Time

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.

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Departure and emptiness in the Latvian countryside (in Latvian)

Authors: Dace Dzenovska

Location: Latvia

Themes: Affect, Migration, Planning, Postsocialism

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