Sections
Articles are published in individual sections, the specifics of which are consistent with specific areas of research published in the journal, guided by the expertise of the section editors.
Perception and experience
The Perception and Experience section is to be devoted to scientific reflection on the cultural conditions of sensory perception and perception experiences, including space, environment and architecture, as well as critical analyses of historical concepts. The section will contain articles on human sensoriality (both in its universal and contextual aspect), research results concerning the conditions of perception and experience of space , the role of the senses in various cultural spaces, as well as the consequences of including this subject in the cultural research. Research on the different conceptualisations of sensoriality within particular cultures is also important to the Editorial Board.
Editors of the section: Małgorzata Kądziela, Ph.D. (University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland); Michael Fowler, Ph.D., (Technical University of Berlin, Germany)
Contact: malgorzata.kadziela@us.edu.pl
Heritage
The Heritage section will be open to manuscripts which focus on the study of cultural connections between the past and the present, and well as the exploration of specific relation forms between them – their continuation and transformation in terms of shaping spaces and places, their protection, interpretation and reinterpretation. The Editors expect the submitted manuscripts to highlight and articulate these relations, but also to distance themselves from historically rooted typologies and classifications of heritage and move towards more holistic approaches which emphasise their mutual intertwining and conditioning. We invite case studies micro-analyses focused on the concrete yet open to the contextual conditions, emphasising the multi-facetedness of described phenomena; we are also interested, even more, in theoretical works concerning ontology, epistemology, and axiology of cultural heritage.
Editors of the section: Anna Gomóła, Ph.D. University of Silesia Professor (University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland); Vida Savoniakaitė, Ph.D. (The Lithuanian Institute of History, Lithuania)
Contact: anna.gomola@us.edu.pl
Landscapes
Landscapes are both specific places existing in particular cultural contexts, as well as spaces of reflection that allow development of a comprehensive approach towards the problem of culture in its relations with the environment, nature, and life. Thus, the landscapes are specific loci communes, a borderline between ontology and epistemology, experience and theory. The Landscapes section will bring together the problems of cultural landscape creation practices with a theoretical reflection on them. The aim is to define the cultural problems surrounding the landscape category, as well as a search for specifics of culture, and new theoretical and cultural reflection undertaken by the humanities within the framework of individual cultural phenomena. This transdisciplinary section will include descriptions and analyses of detailed cases concerning the construction/reinvention/reconfiguration of cultural landscapes (architecture and landscape architecture, urban planning, ekistics, agriculture and semiosis, habituses, space proxemics, etc.), as well as proposals for methodological and theoretical definitions of the cultural landscape and culture in general.
Editors of the section: Marek Pacukiewicz, Ph.D., University of Silesia Professor (University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland); Tessa Matteini, Associate Professor, Arch. (University of Florence, Italy)
Contact: marek.pacukiewicz@us.edu.pl
Architecture
Dedicated to architecture, the section will be devoted to looking at the history, theory, methodology and practice of design and implementation of spaces, places, structures, and specific objects from the perspective of current achievements of human sciences (e.g. neuroscience and cognitive science), technology in culture, as well as the cultural knowledge and processes that take place within cultures. The aim of the published articles should be focused on capturing the factors of duration and changes that affect the formation of different types of human life environment – natural albeit transformed, inherited, modernised, planned, designed and behavioural. We invite critically focused manuscripts, that analyse their evolution, conceptualisation, processing, contextualisation, experience, and evolving forms of meaning.
Editors of the section: Thomas Mical, Prof. (Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand and Jindal Global University, India); Eva Alvarez, Ph.D., Arch. (Technical University of Valencia, Spain)
Contact: loci.communes@us.edu.pl
Urban Planning
As a practice, urban planning is oriented towards action, however, as an object of study, it is more complex and is characterised by an ambiguous nature. On one hand, city plan patterns are documents representing the culture and the course of their development. One the other hand, an intense discussion regarding the social components takes place in the contemporary urbanistic theory. The approach of the journal seeks to open and sustain a constructive dialogue between the two aspects, based on the understanding of causal mechanisms, contexts and complex processes of urban planning. We expect the authors of the papers to address and reflect the following issues in an integrated manner: the possibilities of obtaining of measurable data, the knowledge about the process of shaping of spaces’ structures, as well as its specificity, the context of formation and renovation of a space (what became of it, what it communicates, and how it affects other structures), the context of values in urban planning, as well as the context of historical development that allows to understand what changes a space underwent with time. The contributions should focus on the interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary approaches that would help to cast a new light on the well-known case studies, as well as explaining the new case studies with refreshed methodologies.
Editors of the section: Lucija Ažman Momirski, Associate Professor, Arch. (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia); Akane Mizushima, Ph.D. (The National Institute of Technology, Akashi College, Japan)
Contact: loci.communes@us.edu.pl
Miscellanea
A section in which polemics with articles previously presented in the journal will be published. We also intend to offer a possibility of submitting reports on discussions and letters to the Editorial Board dealing with problems caused by aforementioned articles. There will also be space for formulas such as research reports, science releases and announcements. This section will also be open to book reviews.
Editor of the section: Małgorzata Rygielska Ph.D. (University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland)
Contact: malgorzata.rygielska@us.edu.pl
