TY - JOUR
T1 - The emotional presence of nature
T2 - Exploring affect in human-wilderness relations
AU - Douglas, Mark L.
AU - Borrie, William T.
AU - Bosak, Keith
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Affect is a construct that has received substantial scholarly attention in non-representational theory and other fields. This study focuses on human-wilderness relations through a non-representational theoretical lens to reveal insights into the concept of affect. Research indicates that societal and cultural forces play an influential role in wilderness relationships. A focus is lacking on how wilderness may affectively influence, build, or sustain human–wilderness relations through emotional registers. Fifteen people participated in a study of how wilderness affect occurs in everyday life. For one week following a visit to a wilderness area, participants kept a diary and camera to take notes and photographs when certain feelings formed. The researcher augmented the diary-photograph, diary-interview method with exemplary and evocative anecdotes. The results show three ways the emergence of affect becomes perceptible. It offers an example of how affect-oriented inquiry is carried out and informs further affect-oriented outdoor recreation research. Conceptually, wilderness affect appreciates and responds to differences that emerge through relations with wild nature. The study furthers inquiry into emotional meaning making via human–wilderness relations.
AB - Affect is a construct that has received substantial scholarly attention in non-representational theory and other fields. This study focuses on human-wilderness relations through a non-representational theoretical lens to reveal insights into the concept of affect. Research indicates that societal and cultural forces play an influential role in wilderness relationships. A focus is lacking on how wilderness may affectively influence, build, or sustain human–wilderness relations through emotional registers. Fifteen people participated in a study of how wilderness affect occurs in everyday life. For one week following a visit to a wilderness area, participants kept a diary and camera to take notes and photographs when certain feelings formed. The researcher augmented the diary-photograph, diary-interview method with exemplary and evocative anecdotes. The results show three ways the emergence of affect becomes perceptible. It offers an example of how affect-oriented inquiry is carried out and informs further affect-oriented outdoor recreation research. Conceptually, wilderness affect appreciates and responds to differences that emerge through relations with wild nature. The study furthers inquiry into emotional meaning making via human–wilderness relations.
KW - Wilderness
KW - affect
KW - affect-oriented inquiry
KW - human-nature connections
KW - human-wilderness relations
KW - non-representational methods
KW - non-representational theory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150873456&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/2545d41b-5a88-3701-99bf-44d89f2bb999/
U2 - 10.1080/02614367.2023.2191981
DO - 10.1080/02614367.2023.2191981
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85150873456
SN - 0261-4367
VL - 43
SP - 447
EP - 462
JO - Leisure Studies
JF - Leisure Studies
IS - 3
ER -