Los estudios sociales sobre alimentación y las autoridades responsablesde este campo coinciden en resaltar la situación paradójica delcomensal actual: se sabe cómo se debe comer pero no se come comose debe. Enfrentarse con éxito a las paradojas suele requerir un ciertodistanciamiento —lingüístico y disciplinar— que ofrezca la sufi cienteperspectiva. Aquí se propone hacerlo desde la perspectiva histórica queuna sociología de la utopía puede aportar al confl icto entre imaginariosalimentarios. Para ello, este artículo revisará los elementos comunesdel pensamiento utópico/distópico en orden a extraer las categorías demayor interés para un análisis sociológico de las políticas y comportamientosalimentarios. Después, recorreremos los modos en que algunasde las utopías clásicas han enfocado —o desenfocado— la cuestión dela comida e intentaremos sacar algunas conclusiones.
The majority of scholars agree that Seamus Heaney's bog poetry is politically charged and directed primarily at the violence of the Irish "Troubles." Critics have extensively analyzed the poems that Heaney published during this time for their political context and bold political commentary. However, one poem has been curiously overlooked. "Bogland," published in the face of the "Troubles" in 1969, has received little, if any, attention in way of politics. Instead, it has been analyzed as a process poem: a psychological dig or embodiment of Heaney's exploration of his personal fears as a poet, search for resolution, and struggle to find Irish identity. At most, critics have discussed the poem as an embodiment of Heaney's exploration of national identity before his actual debut in the political arena. However, they have not gone far enough. All have failed to address the poem's clear political context and message. Contrary to the findings of previous scholarship, I assert that "Bogland" was written as a political poem to unite Ireland in purposeful imitation of American nationalism. Interviews with Seamus Heaney reveal his intent to write the poem from a Catholic nationalist background and to connect with a national consciousness. Close textual analysis reveals several allusions to American nationalism by way of American history, American nationalist symbols, and Irish imitations. Using circular imagery, Heaney calls for Ireland to come together under a shared history and vision for the future and stand on its own as a united nation of the world. All of this evidence indicates that "Bogland" is clearly a political poem, written with a political agenda and political context. "Bogland" is no mere process poem or psychological dig, but Heaney's plea for Ireland to throw off the chains of English colonialism and become the united power that it was meant to become.
I began this project because I was curious. Last year, I was approached on three separate occasions by self-proclaimed psychics. I can see right through you. You have a clear golden aura and I feel obligated to tell you what I see. Separated by distance and time, I knew these people were not in cahoots with one another. Though I still question the authenticity of psychic sight, I have come to appreciate it as an agnostic would God—I am open to the possibility that mind reading, past lives, mediumship, clairvoyance, etc. exist, though I am not certain. Disregarding skepticism or fanaticism, I got to know many people in the community on a personal level. No longer stereotypes, the psychics became human. Representing their individuality—balanced by my own objectivity—motivated this body of work. As the year progressed, I became dissatisfied by the narrow scope of portraiture. The newspapers came out of this restless curiosity. Ranging from 1850-1990, the newspapers show the changes in public opinion towards parapsychic phenomena. In the 1850s, Spiritualism grabbed the attention of many Americans but by the end of the 19th century, belief turned to distrust only to turn back to belief in the 1920s. In times of economic and political distress, people turn to the unexplainable for explanations; when the psychical world fails to solve problems, people turn to the spiritual world, whether through religion or through metaphysical practices. My personal experiences in this community also took on an importance in the work. I inserted myself into the process by undergoing Past Life Regression Hypnosis (two video projections in the show) and through extensive writing (made into a book called "Looking"). This multifaceted approach helped me get closer to an honest truth. Instead of the more theory based project about psychic sight/photographic sight and questions of authenticity for psychics and photographers eschewed the basic humanity represented by our collective urge to believe in something greater than ourselves.
