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CeMoRe Seminar with Mark Stoddart on Skiing Mobilities

Date: 8 November 2011 Time: 4.15pm to 6.00pm

Venue: Bowland North Seminar Room 6

Skiing Mobilities: Cyborg Skiers, Powder Nomads, and Eco-Politics

Dr. Mark C.J. Stoddart

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology Memorial University of NewfoundlandSt. John's, NL, Canada

Abstract

Interpretations of skiing as a pro-environmental alternative to extractive development require critical reflection and analysis. Drawing on interviews, field observation and media analysis, I argue that environmental ambiguities are central to skiing. Skiing technologies and mobility networks extend skiers' capacities to interact with mountains and snow across a variety of locations. These technologies include the individualized skis, boots and specialized clothing that permit movement across mountains, as well as chairlifts and resort infrastructure. Automobility and aeromobility networks also link skiers and mountain environments to nearby cities and towns, and onwards to global flows of tourism. This analysis describes how mobility networks and skiing technologies produce negative consequences for mountain environments in terms of energy use, wildlife impacts and greenhouse gas emissions. The eco-politics of skiing is shaped by discourses articulated by the ski industry, mass media and social movement organizations. It is also shaped by skiers' recognition - or their denial - of skiing as a "cyborg" practice that links people, machines and nature in ways that are pleasurable, but not always ecologically benign.

Event website: http://www.mun.ca/soc/fac_staff/stoddart.php

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Who can attend: Anyone