Instructions for session II – “Being connected” in the Anthropocene

Date: Tuesday May 9th 2023

Time: 9:00–12:00 (Swedish time), 10:00–13:00 (Finnish time)

Zoom link: https://gu-se.zoom.us/j/67733051952

PPT-presentation from session: MASTER_Session-II_Purple-group_2023-05-09.pdf

The theme of the session arranged by the Purple group is ‘being connected’. Our research is about water, its different forms, and different ways of how humans are connected to nature. In sustainability science complex system perspectives have contributed to raising awareness that nature and humans are inextricably connected in different forms and on different levels. During the session we will introduce different perspectives and concepts on being connected from our research, such as a circular economy and systems thinking, and invite you to explore various connections in your own research.

**************************************************

How to prepare for the session

Most of the seminar will be based around group discussions and we kindly ask you to prepare with the following materials:

Please read West et al. 2022 "A relational turn for sustainability science? Relational thinking, leverage points and transformations" https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26395916.2020.1814417

This material is provided because it gives a good reflection on the power of understanding the connection of human and nature through relational thinking, while giving a very broad theoretical and conceptual background to sustainability science in general. The paper advocates for relational thinking as a mean to move “away from focusing on interactions between entities, towards emphasizing continually unfolding processes and relations”. In preparation for the session, please reflect on how you view the connection between nature/water and humans in your research?

Please watch this 20 min. episode (S1 EP19) of Explained (Vox & Netflix 2018) on the World Water Crisis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C65iqOSCZOY

This material is provided to highlight the role of water as fundamental entity for all existence. We hope this material gives you food for thought and helps you in your reflections. In preparation for the session, please reflect on how your research is connected to water. If your research is not directly linked to water, what then are the implications of your research to water?

Please explore the virtual exhibition "Visual Catalysts" or browse the book (Suonpää & Jokinen et al. 2020) https://cicat2025.turkuamk.fi/en/visual-catalysts/

This material is provided because we feel that art has immense power as catalyst for creating connections to really any issue faced in the Anthropocene. We hope this material ignites your imagination and helps form your reflections. In preparations for the session, please reflect on art or artistic elements in your research. If art has not been a part of your research, do you see any avenues or interest to include it?

In addition to these three materials we ask you to choose at least one of the papers that you find interesting from the literature list below (link opens a pdf), or choose any additional article that you have found yourself and fits with the theme “being connected”.

The literature list- some hints on the content.pdf

*********************************************

Schedule of the session

9:00–10:00 (Swedish time), 10:00–11:00 (Finnish time)
Introduction to the session
Inspirational talk by Professor Hanna Lehtimäki with reflection
Hanna Lehtimäki is a Professor of Innovation management. Her research examines a circular economy, leadership, strategic management, and social networks. Her current research focuses on the circular economy of critical materials for electric mobility and microplastics. She leads the Research Center for Sustainable Circular Economy and Sustainable innovation research group at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) Business School. She is also a vice director of RESOURCE Research Community at the UEF.

10:00–10:15 (Swedish time), 11:00–11:15 (Finnish time)
Break

10:15–11:00 (Swedish time), 11:15–12:00 (Finnish time)
Introduction to the break-out rooms
Facilitated discussions in break-out rooms

11:00–11:15 (Swedish time), 12:00–12:15 (Finnish time)
Break

11:15–12:00 (Swedish time), 12:15–13:00 (Finnish time)
Art exhibition, reflection, and summary
Conclusion & key take-aways