Staged nature. Public aquariums as institutions of knowledge
Staged nature. Public aquariums as institutions of knowledge.
Project Staged nature responds to the question of how beliefs on nature and environment are produced, represented and distributed at public aquariums. The aquariums combine the ambition to present information of oceans and the marine environment with a desire to entertain. They are an important link between research and the general public; they spread knowledge of endangered natures and engage the public into a commitment with environmental issues.
The project problematizes three areas: (1) design, (2) knowledge flows, and (3) the combination of facts and fiction. The project examines the conventions and negotiations through which nature is staged. Nature and sustainability are continuously changing fields of knowledge. One question is therefore how new knowledge is incorporated into the activities at the aquariums. The study draws attention to how a globally dispersed popular culture contributes to marine narration, how fact and fiction are combined and how this affects the audience reactions.
The project Staged nature is linked to research that in different ways deals with this intersection and is related to Science & Technology Studies, studies of exhibited nature, human/animal studies and studies of the experience economy. The Project uses an ethnographic methodology. The Project is conducted by Lars Kaijser, associate professor of ethnology.
Project Staged nature responds to the question of how beliefs on nature and environment are produced, represented and distributed at public aquariums. The aquariums combine the ambition to present information of oceans and the marine environment with a desire to entertain. They are an important link between research and the general public; they spread knowledge of endangered natures and engage the public into a commitment with environmental issues.
The project problematizes three areas: (1) design, (2) knowledge flows, and (3) the combination of facts and fiction. The project examines the conventions and negotiations through which nature is staged. Nature and sustainability are continuously changing fields of knowledge. One question is therefore how new knowledge is incorporated into the activities at the aquariums. The study draws attention to how a globally dispersed popular culture contributes to marine narration, how fact and fiction are combined and how this affects the audience reactions.
The project Staged nature is linked to research that in different ways deals with this intersection and is related to Science & Technology Studies, studies of exhibited nature, human/animal studies and studies of the experience economy. The Project uses an ethnographic methodology. The Project is conducted by Lars Kaijser, associate professor of ethnology.
Final report
Purpose of the project and how it has developed during the project period
The purpose was to study how conceptions of nature and the environment are produced, shaped and distributed on public aquariums. As far as empirical data is concerned, the selection has shifted compared to the initial plans. During the project period, it became possible to participate in the reconstruction of a rainforest at Universeum (Gothenburg), which was followed closely. The continuous conversations with employees at the Universum served as an important introductory course to the everyday work of a larger public aquarium. Similarly, through Stockholm University, I had a sabbatical at the Scandinavian Section, UCLA, which allowed for a deeper acquaintance with the Los Angeles area's aquariums. The aim of the project has not shifted.
A short description of how it was implemented
The study has used ethnographic methods, and the activities of the aquariums have been observed and documented, while key persons have been interviewed. The observations describe guided tours and how the aquarium environments are used, they reflect conversations with visitors and staff at the aquariums. Also, the exhibitions have been documented through photographs and films. Also, there are notes from internal aquarium meetings. The aquarium's production of writings and booklets has been collected as far as possible, added to this, websites and social media have been documented.
In the survey, special emphasis was placed on aquariums where exhibits were rebuilt or renewed. In particular, the reconstruction of the Universum rainforest must be highlighted. The reconstruction was documented through participation during meetings, discussions and in the practical work of producing texts and designing rainforest environments. Scientific managers, educators, communicators, and designers were continuously interviewed. After the inauguration, the use of the new environments was documented. Similarly, but on a smaller scale, the work of designing new exhibitions has also been documented in Plymouth, London, and Stockholm. An important aquarium in this context is the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, where the sabbatical in Los Angeles enabled a closer contact with the aquarium and their activities. Study visits with interviews and documentation have also been conducted at aquariums in Atlanta, Boston; Brighton, Chicago, Gothenburg, Los Angeles; Monterey and Vladivostok.
In addition, I have participated on two occasions at the International Aquarium Congress (IAC) (Vancouver 2016, Fukushima 2018). These conferences provided valuable insight into how the aquariums define their assignments and how they relate to contemporary challenges regarding nature and the environment. These conferences also involved study visits and presentations of aquariums in the area. Participation in IAC resulted in new contacts and opened for several of the aquariums that were later visited.
The project’s three most important results.
The three most important results could be applied to all aquariums, although there were differences in detail and design. However, it should be emphasized that aquariums did not perform their activities in the same way. On the contrary, there were different perceptions of how the business should be conducted and this applied to aesthetics, and educational design, as well as to the management of animals. It also became clear during the IAC meetings that the aquariums were an arena in which nations, such as China, Russia, and the United States, profiled against each other.
1. Aquariums can be considered as a popular science genre, alongside literature in natural history, nature program on television or natural history museums. They follow certain forms in terms of both selection and design, and what information is conveyed. The aquarium's ambition is to present scientifically grounded knowledge of nature and the environment in an entertaining way. An important scientific starting point is that different species are best understood in their environment, which promotes designed habitats as ideals. The entrenchment in the entertainment industry affects the design of these habitats insofar as there is a focus on charismatic natural environments such as rainforests and open seas, and a special attention to charismatic species such as sharks and amphibians. In many cases, there is also a desire to create a commitment to nature and animals through fascination and strong experiences. Most of the visited aquariums were engaged in creating a "wow" (the expression is used in both Swedish and English) through spectacular natural environments and dramatized stories. According to the same logic, wow will later be transformed into an "aha", when the scientific knowledge enables a deeper understanding of nature.
2. During the period that my research was conducted, the term "anthropocene" was introduced to the public, which denotes a geological epoch characterized by human influence. The anthropocene is found in the aquariums as a cultural viewpoint, and as a way of understanding man's relationship to nature and the environment. In light of this, aquariums strive to show how human actions affect the earth. Several of the environmental issues that are addressed have a global bearing, such as the plastic in the seas and climate change. Here the aquariums, through their exhibitions, contribute to linking global conditions, with local conditions, to translate global changes into local issues, and vice versa, they can show how local conditions are linked to larger and more global conditions.
3. The aquariums thus presented how the world's marine environments are threatened by man. Here, the aquariums use an educational credo that emphasizes how people affect the environment through their everyday consumption routines. A recurring approach, therefore, was to show how visitors can contribute to a better environment by actively avoiding products with, for example, palm oil or using disposable plastic bags, something that I called banal sustainability, inspired by Michael Billing's concept of banal nationalism.
Overall, the aquariums in their dissemination of knowledge were reminiscent of other popular science genres. Notable was how the aquarium's work was integrated with technological development in terms of how to design the habitats as well as the use of new materials. Here, acrylic plastic and the possibility of more imaginative aquarium tanks are an important prerequisite.
New research questions generated through the project.
During the visits to the aquariums, I have noted how invasive alien species were highlighted. Along with two colleagues who have pondered on the same subject matter, Mattias Frihammar, Stockholm University, and Maja Lagerqvist, Uppsala university, funds have been applied for a project called Invasive Alien Species. About the importance of culture in the management of environmental threats Invasive species (Formas, Swedish Research Council).
The project’s international dimensions and collaborations.
The results of the Staged Nature project have been presented through several channels, namely scientific texts, at international conferences and in teaching (I am responsible for a course on Cultural and Natural Heritage). Also, the project was presented at ethnological seminars in Lund and Umeå, as well as in Gothenburg. As far as the scientific texts are concerned, the aim has been to reach out with research results, both in Swedish and in English. The texts that have been reviewed through peer-review procedures are available through Open Access (links in the literature list), this also includes those under publication. Materials from the study have been presented at a dozen international conferences. Mentioned here are Nature's cultures. Norwegian conference for cultural research, Oslo, 2019, where I gave a keynote lecture, as well as the 34th Nordic Ethnology and Folklore Conference in Uppsala 2018, where I, together with the ethnologist Elin Lundquist, was responsible for a panel.
Collaboration has taken place in different ways. I have been co-editor (with Simon Ekström), for an anthology related to the project (Animals, Touching meetings and cultural pain points). I participate in a forthcoming volume on climate change, Naming the Time: Climate Change, Chronotopes, and Temporality (part of the Norwegian research project The Future is now under the guidance of Professor Kyrre Kverndokk, University of Bergen). An important collaboration over the years has been with researchers at the University of Illinois, Urban Campaign (including Jane Desmond), where Staged Nature was presented (2017 and 2018).
The purpose was to study how conceptions of nature and the environment are produced, shaped and distributed on public aquariums. As far as empirical data is concerned, the selection has shifted compared to the initial plans. During the project period, it became possible to participate in the reconstruction of a rainforest at Universeum (Gothenburg), which was followed closely. The continuous conversations with employees at the Universum served as an important introductory course to the everyday work of a larger public aquarium. Similarly, through Stockholm University, I had a sabbatical at the Scandinavian Section, UCLA, which allowed for a deeper acquaintance with the Los Angeles area's aquariums. The aim of the project has not shifted.
A short description of how it was implemented
The study has used ethnographic methods, and the activities of the aquariums have been observed and documented, while key persons have been interviewed. The observations describe guided tours and how the aquarium environments are used, they reflect conversations with visitors and staff at the aquariums. Also, the exhibitions have been documented through photographs and films. Also, there are notes from internal aquarium meetings. The aquarium's production of writings and booklets has been collected as far as possible, added to this, websites and social media have been documented.
In the survey, special emphasis was placed on aquariums where exhibits were rebuilt or renewed. In particular, the reconstruction of the Universum rainforest must be highlighted. The reconstruction was documented through participation during meetings, discussions and in the practical work of producing texts and designing rainforest environments. Scientific managers, educators, communicators, and designers were continuously interviewed. After the inauguration, the use of the new environments was documented. Similarly, but on a smaller scale, the work of designing new exhibitions has also been documented in Plymouth, London, and Stockholm. An important aquarium in this context is the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, where the sabbatical in Los Angeles enabled a closer contact with the aquarium and their activities. Study visits with interviews and documentation have also been conducted at aquariums in Atlanta, Boston; Brighton, Chicago, Gothenburg, Los Angeles; Monterey and Vladivostok.
In addition, I have participated on two occasions at the International Aquarium Congress (IAC) (Vancouver 2016, Fukushima 2018). These conferences provided valuable insight into how the aquariums define their assignments and how they relate to contemporary challenges regarding nature and the environment. These conferences also involved study visits and presentations of aquariums in the area. Participation in IAC resulted in new contacts and opened for several of the aquariums that were later visited.
The project’s three most important results.
The three most important results could be applied to all aquariums, although there were differences in detail and design. However, it should be emphasized that aquariums did not perform their activities in the same way. On the contrary, there were different perceptions of how the business should be conducted and this applied to aesthetics, and educational design, as well as to the management of animals. It also became clear during the IAC meetings that the aquariums were an arena in which nations, such as China, Russia, and the United States, profiled against each other.
1. Aquariums can be considered as a popular science genre, alongside literature in natural history, nature program on television or natural history museums. They follow certain forms in terms of both selection and design, and what information is conveyed. The aquarium's ambition is to present scientifically grounded knowledge of nature and the environment in an entertaining way. An important scientific starting point is that different species are best understood in their environment, which promotes designed habitats as ideals. The entrenchment in the entertainment industry affects the design of these habitats insofar as there is a focus on charismatic natural environments such as rainforests and open seas, and a special attention to charismatic species such as sharks and amphibians. In many cases, there is also a desire to create a commitment to nature and animals through fascination and strong experiences. Most of the visited aquariums were engaged in creating a "wow" (the expression is used in both Swedish and English) through spectacular natural environments and dramatized stories. According to the same logic, wow will later be transformed into an "aha", when the scientific knowledge enables a deeper understanding of nature.
2. During the period that my research was conducted, the term "anthropocene" was introduced to the public, which denotes a geological epoch characterized by human influence. The anthropocene is found in the aquariums as a cultural viewpoint, and as a way of understanding man's relationship to nature and the environment. In light of this, aquariums strive to show how human actions affect the earth. Several of the environmental issues that are addressed have a global bearing, such as the plastic in the seas and climate change. Here the aquariums, through their exhibitions, contribute to linking global conditions, with local conditions, to translate global changes into local issues, and vice versa, they can show how local conditions are linked to larger and more global conditions.
3. The aquariums thus presented how the world's marine environments are threatened by man. Here, the aquariums use an educational credo that emphasizes how people affect the environment through their everyday consumption routines. A recurring approach, therefore, was to show how visitors can contribute to a better environment by actively avoiding products with, for example, palm oil or using disposable plastic bags, something that I called banal sustainability, inspired by Michael Billing's concept of banal nationalism.
Overall, the aquariums in their dissemination of knowledge were reminiscent of other popular science genres. Notable was how the aquarium's work was integrated with technological development in terms of how to design the habitats as well as the use of new materials. Here, acrylic plastic and the possibility of more imaginative aquarium tanks are an important prerequisite.
New research questions generated through the project.
During the visits to the aquariums, I have noted how invasive alien species were highlighted. Along with two colleagues who have pondered on the same subject matter, Mattias Frihammar, Stockholm University, and Maja Lagerqvist, Uppsala university, funds have been applied for a project called Invasive Alien Species. About the importance of culture in the management of environmental threats Invasive species (Formas, Swedish Research Council).
The project’s international dimensions and collaborations.
The results of the Staged Nature project have been presented through several channels, namely scientific texts, at international conferences and in teaching (I am responsible for a course on Cultural and Natural Heritage). Also, the project was presented at ethnological seminars in Lund and Umeå, as well as in Gothenburg. As far as the scientific texts are concerned, the aim has been to reach out with research results, both in Swedish and in English. The texts that have been reviewed through peer-review procedures are available through Open Access (links in the literature list), this also includes those under publication. Materials from the study have been presented at a dozen international conferences. Mentioned here are Nature's cultures. Norwegian conference for cultural research, Oslo, 2019, where I gave a keynote lecture, as well as the 34th Nordic Ethnology and Folklore Conference in Uppsala 2018, where I, together with the ethnologist Elin Lundquist, was responsible for a panel.
Collaboration has taken place in different ways. I have been co-editor (with Simon Ekström), for an anthology related to the project (Animals, Touching meetings and cultural pain points). I participate in a forthcoming volume on climate change, Naming the Time: Climate Change, Chronotopes, and Temporality (part of the Norwegian research project The Future is now under the guidance of Professor Kyrre Kverndokk, University of Bergen). An important collaboration over the years has been with researchers at the University of Illinois, Urban Campaign (including Jane Desmond), where Staged Nature was presented (2017 and 2018).