Co-creating health’s lively, moving frontiers: Brief observations on the facets and possibilities of non-representational theory

老年人移动构成的时空——老龄化地理学中非表征理论的引入①

“…Moreover, as its name suggests, despite some difficulties (that will be discussed later), non-representational theory aims to, as much as possible, present not represent the world. Thus the non-representational style is a particular way of doing research to potentially reverberate the happening of life (Andrews, 2014) (for the specific typology on which the following description is based and, for other aligned typologies, see Thrift (2000), Dewsbury et al (2002), Cadman (2009), Vannini (2009, 2014a; Skinner et al (2015). )…”

“…A'trans-scaled relationality'that recognizes how events in any one place are complexly networked with ideas, bodies, objects, processes that span geographical distances and scales. Together these three forms of simultaneous relational thinking constitute an overall theoretical perspective that is post-humanist and thus is cynical of approaches that are overly person-centered, and that tend to separate and rigidly define phenomena (Andrews, 2014;Thrift, 2008;Vannini, 2009Vannini, , 2014a. In sum, as Anderson et al (2010) suggest, in non-representational theory it is important to study mutuality -co-invention, co-fabrication and co-evolution -between things.…”

“…A third facet of non-representational theory is to recognize the vitality of life; that life is spirited and has its own zest and zeal (Andrews, 2014(Andrews, , 2015. This acknowledgement involves a particular interpretation of neo-vitalism that, whilst not necessarily wanting to come up with mystical or spiritual alternatives to science, recognizes the life-force of things acting together; the energetic animation of collective materiality.…”

“…As Vannini (2014a) suggests, this contrasts with a concern in many forms of research with personal outlooks and states of mind (ideas, motivations, and so on). Practice and performance are instead about the expressive and purposeful engagement of the body, bodies together, and bodies and ob-jects together, whether in the moment they be expected or unexpected, intentional or unintentional (Andrews 2014). In this endeavour, and in partial contrast to Judith Butler' s famous theorization, the objective of research is not necessarily to look for signs and meanings in body performativity that might be consciously read, but might just as well be about very basic active elements -including things and timings and spacings between things.…”

“…A fifth facet of non-representational theory is to focus on bodily sensation, but not as an individual or personal experience, as something'transpersonal' ; being produced through, and shared between, many bodies (Andrews 2014). This particular facet has led to the study of'affect'as an elucidatory concept in research (Anderson 2006;Thrift 2004;.…”