Calling Bodies in Lived Spaces : Spatial Explorations on the Concept of Calling in a Public Urban Space

This booki sasomewhat expanded and elaborated edition of my doctoral dissertation. Iamimmensely grateful for being giventhe chance to revise and work throughthe projectonce again, and to hopefullyenhance its quality. Iam humbled and thankfult oward Va ndenhoeck &R uprecht, and the editorial board of the RCRseries for reading my work so thoroughly and for finding it a valuable contribution to the series. Iwould liketotakethis opportunitytothank presentand former colleagues at the UniversityofOslo,and at the Faculty of Theology, as well as colleagues in the HEROS (Heterotopic Hospitality. Spaces of Others) network, and NORDHOST (Nordic hospitalities in ac ontext of migration and refugee crisis)network. Finally, Iwould liketotakethis time to express my respectand esteem to the people living their lives in the streets, in marginalised spacesa nd on the margins of society. The circumstances for these lives are cold and hard, literally,a nd obviously extremely strenuous and complicated. Anyp erson encounteredinthese conditions should be met with the same esteem, dignity, and respectasany otherhuman being. Kaia Rønsdal combines the perspective of production of space, ethical theory and fieldwork, focusing on the contradictions in lived space, by observing encounters and interactions between different groups of people in everyday public space. It is an interdisciplinary contribution to the science of diaconia. The interest lies with the lives that diaconia traditionally have been concerned with and the spaces where these lives are lived, exploring the concept of calling through narratives of these lives and spaces. The book challenges and contributes to traditional and contemporary notions of calling as it is understood in the Scandinavian tradition. These notions, stemming from interpretations of Luther, place the calling among humans, as opposed to it being something exclusively divine and ecclesiastical. The discussion on the calling is enriched with concepts stemming from French sociology and human geography, primarily from H. Lefebvre and M. Foucault, as well as phenomenological contributions. These are concerned with the significance of body, space, urbanity, and spatial interpretation as space is a relational, formative phenomenon constituted in practice and interaction. Through methodologies developed from phenomenology and spatial theory, where the researcher subject is an evident embodied participant, detailed accounts from the field form the material, describing everyday life in an Oslo cityscape. From this material, the concept of calling is explored, developing the discussion from the perspective of the spaces of others. The assumption being that it is in the spaces where people meet and bodies respond to other bodies, whether marginalised or not, that calling may manifest itself. Through spatial analysis of the minute details of bodies and socialities in everyday life, new material for ethical considerations is explored. The analysis and discussion may enrich and further deepen the understanding of what takes place in public spaces, recognising them as a source of knowledge in a range of disciplines. These everyday encounters may also be described and analysed as contributions to the development of theory and praxis of diaconia. Back cover: Kaia S. Rønsdal combines perspectives of the production of space, ethical theory and fieldwork, as an interdisciplinary contribution to the science of diaconia, by observing encounters and interactions in everyday public space. She challenges and contributes to traditional and contemporary notions of calling, enriching them through spatial theories and phenomenology. Through methodologies developed within this theoretical framework, where the researched subject is an evident embodied participant, detailed accounts from the field form the material, describing everyday life in an Oslo cityscape. The analysis and discussion enriches and deepens the understanding of what takes place in public spaces, recognising them as a source of knowledge. The everyday encounters may also be described and analysed as contributions to the development of the theory and practice of diaconia ***Angaben zur beteiligten Person Rønsdal: Dr Kaia S. Rønsdal is a postdoctoral fellow in the research project "NORDHOST - Nordic Hospitalities in a Context of Migration and Refugee Crisis", and is based at The Faculty of Theology at the University of Oslo