A multimodal ethnography on environmental sensing that merges design and anthropological knowledge through a focus on cryosphere science.
Projectdetail
- Type
- Research project
- Research areas
- Human and planetary health
- Topics
- Design, creation and art
- University
- Basel Academy of Art and Design / Institute of Contempory Design Practices
- Funding
- SNF PostDoc
- Running time
- 2026 - 2028
- Management
- Saadia Mirza, Ph.D.
This SNF postdoc project (2026-2028) is an anthropology of media and design that examines how human environmental consciousness is impacted by the affective dimensions of sensing technologies that transform our understanding and representation of the cryosphere, focusing on their scientific, cultural, and political dimensions, hosted at the ICDP HGK Basel FHNW. This research is comparative and spans strategic cryosphere sites in the Swiss Alps, Central Asia, and Antarctica. Through multimodal ethnographic fieldwork, the project explores narratives and affective sensibilities embedded in the modelling and simulation of glacial sites. Expressive works such as speculative cartography, sound and video installations form a part of the ethnographic output, highlighting the importance of sound, image and tactility for transmission, communication and dissemination of environmental knowledge in embodied and sensory formats, encouraging a re-imagination of glacial landscapes and their futures.
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