The Natures of the Cities-The Materiality and the Spatiality of the Vegetarian Diet in Contemporary Taipei City
Date Issued
2008
Date
2008
Author(s)
Chen, Ssu-Hua
Abstract
Based on contemporary studies of (social) natures, this essay is concerned with varied social practices in the city which produce, reproduce, and transform different natures. It attempts to develop understanding of spatialities of natures and the multi-dialect relationship between natures and cities. According to re-materializing approaches in human geography, there are dimensions of materiality, materiality of space, and embodiment to be analyzed. This raises three questions: what are the materialities of the natural materials?; what are the materialities of the natural spaces?; in what ways that the natural spaces and cities intertwine together? Intending to answer those questions, the contemporary vegetarian diet in Taipei City is introduced. In this essay, the research data relies on collection of related information in magazines, networks, papers, etc. and the fieldwork on vegetarians and vegetarian restaurants in Taipei city. On the one hand, it compares the vegetarian diet with contemporary lifestyles or diets which place great emphasis on the pursuit of the natural, e.g. LOHAS, ‘Slow Planet,’ organic diet. On the other hand, it explores the resistant actions of meat-eating. In the conclusions, I explore three concepts to think the materialities and spatialities of natures. First, the materialities of natures can be transformed and copied into different materials, like ‘moving natures.’ Second, the materialities of natural spaces dialectally interact with cities, like ‘contested cities.’ Finally, the moving and contested natures are grounded through individual’s embodied experiences. There is some rule internalized, like ‘the schema of natures.’ Altogether, the social-environment change of contemporary society evokes the natural and to following, varied materials invoke the materialities of natures. This tendency causes the issue of nature much perplexity.
Subjects
natures
materiality
embodiment
multi-dialect
Taipei City
vegetarian diet
Type
thesis
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