The Centre for Intercultural Communication and Interaction started in 2000 as a unit focusing on both fundamental research as well as the implementation of such research in the cultural field. The latter involves the execution of commissioned policy research projects as well as contributions to public discussions and to social/cultural projects in development. CICI employs independent researchers in religious studies, gender studies and (visual) anthropology as well as those working in fields of study in the realm of culture, cultural difference, urbanization, pictorial culture, cultural pluralism and interculturality. This research engenders results, such as scientific publications in the form of books and journal articles, as well as products such as films, essays, educational material, symposia and information reports for policy makers and others in society.
Out of these research interests the idea evolved of creating a unique and experimental symposium on the impact of global urbanisation on those cultural, religious and other ways which generally give human beings meaning and direction in their lives. We refer to these as ‘sense-making’ and ‘sense-giving’ processes. It is a fact that now over half of the world population lives in urban contexts, varying from historical cities (of the European and Asian type) with heritage character to the new continuously changing urbanised areas with multimillion concentrations of people in the so-called Third World. By 2030 estimates are that over 70% of the world’s population will live in an urban context.(1)
Although the relationship between globalisation, nationalism, transnationalism and urbanisation has been dealt with in important work, so far the link with sense-making processes is only marginally addressed.
The major themes discussed during the symposium in different slots and which function as the conceptual threads behind the various contributions in this volume are the following:
1. The urban context and its community building features(its constraints and their effects on sense making): The physical, social and political characteristics of the urban context have a certain impact on community building in cities and in megapoles. the number of people living together in an anonymous way yields a new type of sociality. People are led to live with each other and use the public spaces in a way which is good for all, while knowing at the same time that the space is not the property of anyone in particular. Anxiety will increase in this context, but opportunities grow equally.
2. The urban context and/versus traditions of sense making: islam, evangelical/pentacostal missions: One way the urban context works is by shifting the whole context of meaning of life transfer. The general links are not anymore the family or the small peer group. Rather, personal networks and relatively ‘shallow’ religious experiences are essential for the urbanized way of life. Religious organisations (churches, congregations and the like) are somewhat bewildered by this development, be it in Islam, in Christendom or in any other large religious tradition.
3. The urban context as a cosmopolitan and a cultural phenomenon (e.g., India and the West): Urban ways of life are sometimes dubbed ‘subcultural’. At the same time, they appear to be the same or very similar around the world. So what is happening? Is it the case that the urban context in itself is producing or at the very least inducing a ‘new’ type of religiosity. And what is the relevance of the heightened cultural identity movements around the world?
4. Urban context and media/types of communication: The former pope John-Paul II was known as a man who introduced modern media techniques in the processing of religious messages around the world. Lifestyle and media-visibility are increasingly important in the world. How important are the media constraints and how do they impact on the messages and the processes of sense making?
5. Theurban context and inequality or empowerment: The urban context produces other (and maybe more) outcasts, and subaltern subjects. This poses the problem of empowerment and disempowerment in and by the urbanizing processes. Criminality, opting out, losing power and control over life, and so on are typical products of the shift from traditional to urban life.
6. The urban context as built environment and power structure: triggering conflicts on making sense: The urban context is also a built environment. But building construction in the city is less and less a question of free choice and vision. Powerful interests and large amounts of money are involved. Political, communicational and cultural features are relevant here.
The aim of the symposium is to stimulate a qualitative dialogue and interaction on urban sense-making processes. To this end we have invited participants coming from different backgrounds, research fields and perspectives. Besides academics and people active in the socio-cultural field, special attention has been given to artists, who are, according to our understanding, at the foreground of experimenting with different types of sense-making processes. More specifically, we are not just interested in looking at the end products but at the actual processes through which these artists relate to society. During these processes art serves as a means of communication between different inhabitants; or they can provoke discussions on everyday interactions, evoking ruptures in urban contexts; art projects often critique urban development and can sometimes shift paradigms on urban sense-making processes. In general, this type of experience and knowledge has hardly been scrutinized by academics. By inviting several artists to present their work in an exhibition and/or to perform during the symposium, we wish to draw the attention of academics and the public to the work that has been achieved in this area. The collaboration with A Prior Magazine also underlines our desire to build bridges between these groups that far too often seem to work and move in separate spheres.
For this special issue of A Prior Magazine, we have chosen not to include texts by the keynote speakers nor by any of the more established academics present at the symposium.Instead, we invited the non-established scholars who are participating in the symposium to submit an original contribution (textual and/or visual) on the symposium theme and more specifically on the topic of the discussion slot in which they will be presenting their response to conclude the discussions among the keynote speaker, discussants and debate with the public. This way, the younger and/or less-known scholars are offered the opportunity to participate more extensively and interactively in the whole project of this symposium. It also offers a means for less established, yet up and coming scholars working on cutting edge issues to present their ongoing work to a broader audience.
Moreover, in order to enhance the dialogue between academia and the arts, artists and people working in the art scene have also been invited to either write a paper or create an artistic project based on the themes to be explored during the four-day event. In the tradition of A Prior Magazine and our philosophy behind the symposium structure, visual projects do not serve as an ‘illustration’ of textual material, but function as original contributions in their own right.
Many of the academic discussions will take place in the city theatre NTGent, while artists exhibit their creations at the heart of the Aula, the heart of Ghent University. This could be regarded as a metaphorical mix between often separated working environments and their addressed groups. Through A Prior Magazine we further develop this mode of interaction.We hope this volume will offer some food for both thought and sight for all the readers who, like ourselves, are convinced of the necessity to reflect on the multifarious ways people today are ‘making sense’ out of their lives in urban environments.
(1) Castells 2002. Conversations with Manuel Castells. Oxford: Blackwell.
