Places of living: revisited
Abstract
The fifth issue of the academic journal V!RUS proposes the revisitation of concepts related to living, understood as everyday life and the places in which it is developed. Such concepts were the starting point to create Nomads.usp, whose name was, in its very first formulation, Center for Habitation and Ways of Living Studies. Throughout its ten years of existence, the center expanded and complexized studies on the relationship between spaces and behaviors, including communication processes that have the potential of turning hybrids some physical spaces of habitation and city.
The theme “places of living: revisited” expresses a tripod supporting the reflection we are proposing. On one hand, the notion of place involves physical, hybrids and virtual spatialities connected to the happening of people's everyday life. On the other, living is used here as a noun considering the character of unpredictability and non-determinism, of diversity and mobility, lining human acts. Finally, revisiting these concepts means looking at them through a perspective further molded by theoretical postures that became important to Nomads.usp over the years.
This issue has an absolutely contemporary focus, seeking to examine, in the actuality, postures, reflections, criticism, registers and propositions related to present conceptions of places of living, in Brazil and the world. The aim is, thus, to build a glance on the products of private, public or mixed actions, in all their production and use forms, inserted into urban context.
Will be welcome contributions that offer explorations of this central thematic, such as inputs coming from social sciences, arts, music, philosophy, demography studies, law, medical sciences, public policies, studies on socioenvironmental sustainability, domotics and automation of the everyday, on the quality of real state products on major cities, beyond approaches own to architecture, urbanism and design.
Aiming at exploring the subject in a further focused way, we prefer to exclude from this call: the design process and its languages, methods, means and tools; historic studies that address past periods without having direct connection with present realities; and studies on spatialities that solely exist in digital environments.
Beyond texts and static images, will be welcome musical pieces and testimonials in audio files, architecture, urbanism and design projects and the critical reflection on their conception, short video and films, slideshows, animations, interviews, concerning Nomads.usp interest in exploring possibilities of using digital media for science diffusion.
Contributions will be received through journal’s website no longer than March 9th, 2011, according to guidelines for authors, available at www.nomads.usp.br/virus/submissao_submission.php.
