Irigaray's Between East and West

Carrier bag storytelling with coastal Kenyan families: sharing food, illustrations, and knowledge for tangible environmental justice impacts

“…Ethnographic methods employ participant observation as a key methodology (O'Reilly, 2012); research from a service perspective enhances these observations by stressing the importance of "being with" and deeply listening as a central methodology. Kearns (2005) exemplifies how listening is the foundation for the creation of all forms of communications-especially science communicationand cautions that when overlooked as a methodological praxis, communications can be useless or worse: extractive or detrimental. As a white, American research student entering Indigenous Mijikenda participants' communities and homes, it was critical to take time to first examine the impacts that positionality, identity, and kinships had on research relationships in the context of what could potentially be a neo-colonial data collection process.…”

The Transformative Power of Breath: Music, Alternative Therapy, and Medieval Practices of Contemplation

“…Also, however ineffable and disembodied some aspects of contemplation may be, the reliance on breath in contemplative practice situates it strongly in the body. 15 Luce Irigaray's investigation of Eastern spiritual traditions has led her to contend that transformation of our elemental breath into something more subtle and controlled helps heart, thought, and speech. Breathing is therefore at the heart of her respiratory philosophy, developed from Indian spiritual practices.…”

“…She offers convincing evidence that 'breath itself and the kinds of religious discipline related to it are situated in the body'. 16 The examples from both brass instrument playing and pranayama show, therefore, how a move from organic to volitional breathing can have profound transformative power in relation to the physical and spiritual make-up of practitioners. Jacobs and Ricquier both show the extent to which regular breathing exercises transform the ability to produce efficient wind for the production of sound, while the latter explores further the physical and spiritual benefits induced by conscious and wider-ranging breathing patterns that include deep breathing and full breathing.…”

“…Although the latter may not be the primary objective of musical practitioners, it is an aim comparable to those of yoga schools: Irigaray's reference to 'spirited' breath, which involves complete inhalation and complete exhalation, brings about results similar to the exercise of full breath discussed by Ricquier. 17 If producing efficient wind leads to a state of well-being that helps an individual get in touch with the inner self, the production of sound on brass may also have unwanted effects in relation to maintaining a certain clarity of mind for proper performance. In normal situations, the concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood that is the result of breathing varies constantly.…”

Science Priorities for Offshore Wind and Fisheries Research in the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf Ecosystem: Perspectives from Scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service

“…It will also necessitate making alterations to the methodologies used to survey and monitor protected species and natural resources (Gill et al 2020;Methratta et al 2020), thus affecting the information yielded by those surveys and potentially the management and policy decisions that rely upon that information (Hare et al 2022). Although the U.S. Coast Guard has not legally restricted fishing activities within OWDs (Kearns and West 2018), maneuverability of fishing vessels within wind areas may vary depending on many factors, including vessel size, the fishing gear or method used, or environmental conditions (BOEM 2021a). This will lead to displacement (Murawski et al 2005;Bergström et al 2014;De Backer et al 2019) for both commercial and recreational fisheries if they are excluded from accessing fishing grounds during the construction phase and de facto (practical) exclusions during operational phases for some mobile-gear commercial fisheries (Mackinson et al 2006;Gray et al 2016;ten Brink and Dalton 2018;NYSERDA 2022).…”