Federico De Matteis

University of L’Aquila

Inhabiting the earthquake. Corporeal resonances and spatial practices

9 November 2021, 17h00 (Lisbon Time — GMT+0)

Sala Mattos Romão (Departamento de Filosofia)* | School of Arts and Humanities – University of Lisbon

Abstract

Earthquakes, as other natural disasters, are commonly considered destructive events that instantaneously affect a certain portion of physical space, clearly dividing historical time in a “before” and an “after”. As such, the practical efforts undertaken in the aftermath aim to revert the effects of the disaster, as if attempting to “undo” the event’s dramatic consequences by reversing the flow of time. Nevertheless, we could argue that earthquakes are more than just singular, clearly circumscribable temporal events: they indeed engender a peculiar, lingering spatial phenomenon which becomes embedded in the expressivity of bodies, objects and landscapes, and in the corporeal sensation of all those encounter this space. Observing this condition is crucial to understand all that may be lost as the reconstruction efforts blindly strive to “overwrite” the traces of destruction. To help bring this lived space to light, we can describe two tightly related dynamics: the bodily resonance human subjects experience with this landscape of destruction, and the spatial strategies that the affected communities implement to counter and resist the menacing atmosphere often afforded by the earthquake-space.

* The event will also be available via Zoom for those unable to attend in person. Pre-registration required at: praxis.cful [at] gmail.com until a day before the event. Those registered will receive the Zoom link by e-mail the same day of the Seminar.