
Professor, Institute of Architecture and Urban Development, National Taiwan University, Zhihong Wang
Linz-Chun, Head of Topophilia Studio, Local Preference Studio
DH Café (No. 153, Section 3, Zhongshan North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City)
One session $1500 (including monthly reading books, expert readings, themed salon tips, guided reading notes)
Xu Tsuen, Wang Zhihong, “Moving”. Grouping, 2013. (Original: Peter Adey, Mobility)
Chimera Reading Salon: New Perspectives of the City continues the spirit of The Chimera Group, a transdisciplinary arts society founded in the 1950s by Mr. Wang Dao, who often invited artists to meet in his home. The Chimera Group started from “architecture” and gradually expanded to performing arts, art, literature, photography, and commentary. Years of free and open cross-domain communication at Wang Daishi's home. With “City” at its core, the first series will invite Professor Wang Zhihong, Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, National Taiwan University, and special guests to explore new perspectives on urban space culture through six of his translated urban space books. The second lecture will be based on the book “Mobile” and will lead students to an in-depth discussion through an introductory reading by Professor Wang Zhihong and sharing by special guest Lin Sijun.
《Mobile》
Mobility is a relationship we relate to living and understanding the world
As a “concept book,” Mobility combs through a cross-disciplinary approach to the rich theories and research surrounding mobility, and comments on the major authors and thinkers who have contributed to the topic. It not only traces how “mobility” has developed into a key concept within geography, but also reaches out to relevant discussions in the fields of anthropology, sociology, politics, urban planning, cultural studies, and more. The book consists of four thematic chapters that discuss meaning, politics, practice and mediation.
Movement is a way people relate to the world, participate in it, and in the process analyze and understand the world. Although it seems abstract, in fact its embodiment can be seen everywhere in the daily life of modern people. Peter Adey postulates that mobility involves the movement of something across, across, and through space, in his work “Movement”, and explores its social, political, cultural and economic characteristics. From international transport of goods to community communication and even micro-physical metabolism, they are driven by complex control techniques, power relationships and meanings. In addition to the matter-oriented discussion, the author also used the story of The Time Traveler's Wife to illustrate people's desire for synchronicity: for example, trying to work on different schedules with each other's busy itineraries, adjusting the process of moving oneself through time and seeking proximity only. This is evidence that many modern people experience commuting and traveling, and is evidence that mobility is closely linked to people's daily lives.