Tagged / ESRC festival of social science

ESRC: Miracles in the mundane: hitchhiking and micro-adventures

As as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2017, organised by Bournemouth University, I ran an event about hitchhiking and micro-adventures. You may wonder, when did the practice of hitchhiking need to be thought through social science. By inviting six speakers (hitchhikers and social scientists) to Bournemouth University, we spent 3 hours thinking with and through hitchhiking and micro adventures to explore the modern experiences of passengering, ethical encounters, trust, the cost of speed and acceleration, driverless cars, social entrepreneurship, self-sufficiency, automobility and infrastructure. Other Topics Included –

  • Hitchhiking and the nature of being a passenger (agency, performances and resistance to standardized categories);
  • Contrasted affects, bodies and emotions of being on the road;
  • Role of media and social media in accessibility, inclusion, and diversity of micro adventures;
  • Systems, technologies and practices linked to friction/ frictionless travel;
  • The move back towards so-called ‘active’ and human powered mobility cultures that gives value to turbulence, friction, risk and the social exchange they engender;
  • The future of hitchhiking.
  • The role of gender, race, class, age and sexuality and other social and intersectional relationships of domination at play;
  • Understanding and potentially overcoming physical, mental, emotional barriers to microadventures;
  • Hitchhiking as Sustainable, Subversive Mobilities, Slow Mobilities;

Poster for the Event

The speakers
– Antonin Borgnon, an hitchhiker and photographer spoke about his project “Art of Hitchhiking.”
– Anick-Marie Bouchard is a travel blogger specialized in Hitchhiking, Female Solo Travel, and spoke about putting adventure back into ones life, even without having to travel far.
– Patrick Laviolette, PhD spoke about the recurrent material and bodily techniques employed in hitching a lift. He’s presentation also touched on certain cross-cultural points of comparison between the decline of hitching in the West versus its persistence in Eastern Europe.
– Max Neumegen spoke about his life of travel, and what travel and adventure means to him.
– Ali Hussain spoke about his experiences as a non-white hitchhiker and solo male across different regions, Ali spoke about his  relationship with money in a money-centric culture and hitchhiking as a values-oriented practice rather than as a means to an end.
– Dego from Glasgow, who has been hitchhiking for 30 years, spoke about hitchhiking as central to his lifestyle and work.

Ali Hussain presenting.

 
Some signs from the event” Miracles in the Mundane: hitchhiking and micro-adventures” held last  Saturday,

This event was FREE to attend, and was superbly supported by Natt & Devon at the University. The event was attended by approx. 20 people and was shown LIVE on twitter and Facebook. The experience of been part of the ESRC festival of Social Science was a very positive one.  It has provided a public engagement opportunity, helped me engage with new research partners, and provided more inside into an under researched phenomenon. It has also led to discussions about organizing an event with similar topic areas in 2018.

 

Organizer Michael O’Regan, Faculty of Management

 

For further information please contact FestivalofSocialScience@bournemouth.ac.uk or please visit the event website at nomadx.org

ESRC Festival of Social Science – what we have in store for you

In collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Festival of Social Science, Professor Sangeeta Khorana and Professor Jens Holscher will be coordinating an engaging workshop and panel discussion for local businesses to discuss the possible options around several pressing post-Brexit issues. These issues are;

  • What form of economic relationship can be best re-negotiated within the short timespan (until October 2018) between the UK and EU?
  • What will be the impact on small and medium sized British firms? What steps are proposed to endure that British firms remain competitive after Brexit?
  • Implications for UK trade policy making, focusing in particular on future trade arrangements with the World Trade Organisation and other countries.

The Festival of Social Science offers a fantastic insight into some of the country’s leading social science research and its influence on our social, economic, and political lives both now and in the future. This event will be able to show insight from business leaders and the Commonwealth Secretariat on the issues around Brexit, as well as create a dialogue for businesses in the South West to have their opinions shared.

If you are interested in coming along to this event – drop us an email and we can get you registered!

For more information on all of our ESRC Festival of Social Science events, check out our website.

ESRC Festival of Social Science – what have we got for you!

The ESRC Festival is a month away…

With planning underway we wanted to let you know what events you could get involved in and find out more about the Social Science research we have at Bournemouth University.

Here are a few of the events that we are organising, you can find out more about the festival and book your tickets here.

Brexit: Next Steps for Business and Trade Policy – Sangeeta Khorana and Jens Holscher are inviting policy makers to come together with academics and businesses to discuss options around pressing post-Brexit issues. 9th November, London.

Tackling Loneliness through connections and creativity – Dr. Lee-Ann Fenge and Sally Lee are raising awareness on the impact of loneliness on health and well-being in older generations. This event hopes to give Social Care workers inspiration of connecting and creating with older generations which will help to combat loneliness, whilst raising awareness of the susceptibility loneliness makes people to financial scams. 9th November, The Shelley Theatre Boscombe.

Thank you for coming: Why gratitude matters – Fiona Cownie will teach you the power of saying ‘thank you’ whilst giving you an action plan which you can implement within your work/volunteering environment. 10th November, Bournemouth University Talbot campus.

We can’t wait for you to join us at the ESRC Festival of Social Science. There are activities for everyone, without costing you a penny!