This is the first edition of Philament for 2008, and the year is not even half through (we have a little over a week in hand). For the first time in our short but eventful history, we have broken with routine, moving away from one-word themes in naming this issue ‘Habits & Habitat’. Perhaps it was a result of the additional word (not to mention the ampersand symbol), but a large number of submissions came in for this theme.
Our features contributors have covered surprisingly diverse terrains. Theodore Ell introduces us to the poetry and the philosophy of Italian poet Piero Bigongiari, whose connection with the landscape of his birth, the Rogo Valley of Italy, demonstrates the impact the places we inhabit can have upon us. As a companion piece to this discussion, Ell offers his translations of three of Biogongiari’s poems. Miriam Kelly’s analysis of the installation works of Mella Jaarsma, a contemporary artist based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, explores the way in which the shelter of a garment can be a means of responding to globally pertinent socio-political themes. Russell Daylight takes readers with him on his journey through a postmodern Sydney which “animates a critique of the spatial metaphor which has become so prevalent in socio-geographical studies of the city.” David Lane explores notions of utopianism in Deleuze’s philosophy, arguing convincingly for the need for “a distinction between all transcendental ‘otherworlds’ and the transcendental conditions of possibility for our human habitat.”
Likewise, our excursions section investigates many different scopes within the theme. From poetry exploring the importance of place, whether cityscape or barren beach, to an analysis of the link between the theories and hairstyles of philosophical heavyweights, there is much to enjoy and be inspired by.
Thank you to all of our contributors, whose ideas and creativity have brought this issue to life, and whose promptness and diligence in responding to our many and varied requests have seen the issue online on time.