A Phenomenology of Oceanscapes: Aquatic Lifeworlds and Sustainability
Dublin Core
Title
A Phenomenology of Oceanscapes: Aquatic Lifeworlds and Sustainability
Description
This paper is included in ‘Session 3 Decade of Action, the call for Oceans’ Past to Bridge our Communities’ to address
the encounter with experience and understanding of humans and their aquatic surroundings, i.e. the phenomenology
of oceanscape. Defined as the human perception and experience of the ocean, this concept includes both tangible and
intangible events and encounters. The notion of the sea as a blank, formless and featureless space has often been evoked
in scholarly writings. Recently, however, researchers have made compelling arguments against this point of view by
recognizing the materiality and temporality of the sea itself. Even though the ocean as a fluid space lacks the firm
surface of the land, it is not without recognizable structures in various forms. After introducing and examining a
theoretical framework for the phenomenology of oceanscape, and exploring the experience of encountering a vast body
of water, this paper uses the analysis of (contemporary) human interactions with the ocean that are firmly rooted in the
past to address sustainable concepts of human-ocean interaction in the present. The Haenyeo in South Korea and the
Ama in Japan, both representatives of invaluable and intangible East Asian maritime heritage, exist in the space
between past and present and between land and water. Based on centuries-old tradition and knowledge, their present
understanding of their maritime environment can contribute to a better understanding of social and mutual humanocean entanglements and thus contribute to ocean literacy as defined by UNESCO.
the encounter with experience and understanding of humans and their aquatic surroundings, i.e. the phenomenology
of oceanscape. Defined as the human perception and experience of the ocean, this concept includes both tangible and
intangible events and encounters. The notion of the sea as a blank, formless and featureless space has often been evoked
in scholarly writings. Recently, however, researchers have made compelling arguments against this point of view by
recognizing the materiality and temporality of the sea itself. Even though the ocean as a fluid space lacks the firm
surface of the land, it is not without recognizable structures in various forms. After introducing and examining a
theoretical framework for the phenomenology of oceanscape, and exploring the experience of encountering a vast body
of water, this paper uses the analysis of (contemporary) human interactions with the ocean that are firmly rooted in the
past to address sustainable concepts of human-ocean interaction in the present. The Haenyeo in South Korea and the
Ama in Japan, both representatives of invaluable and intangible East Asian maritime heritage, exist in the space
between past and present and between land and water. Based on centuries-old tradition and knowledge, their present
understanding of their maritime environment can contribute to a better understanding of social and mutual humanocean entanglements and thus contribute to ocean literacy as defined by UNESCO.
Creator
Dr. Anja Krieger
Publisher
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Date
2023
Language
English
Bibliographic Citation
Krieger, Anja. 2023. “A Phenomenology of Oceanscape: Aquatic Lifeworlds and Sustainability.” Edited by Jennifer Craig, Jay Mok, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Abhirada Komoot. In Proceedings of Fifth Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Gwangju, The Republic of Korea, November 13-18 2023. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology. URL: https://apconf.omeka.net/exhibits/show/apconfproceedings/item/1932
Files
Citation
Dr. Anja Krieger, “A Phenomenology of Oceanscapes: Aquatic Lifeworlds and Sustainability,” Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage Proceedings, accessed September 16, 2026, https://apconf.omeka.net/items/show/1932.