Metropolitics

Invisible Lines in the Sand: Bather Arrests in Early 20th-Century Los Angeles

Elsa Devienne & translated by Oliver Waine — 2018-07-13T05:00:00Z

Can beaches reveal the tensions that run through society at a given moment in time? Here, Elsa Devienne shows how Californian beaches in the early 20th century crystallized tensions resulting from the gradual rejection of Victorian values and exposed, via the way people presented their bodies, the changes under way with regard to moral order and American society.
In the late 1910s, Los Angeles was the scene of a series of arrests of bathers and beachgoers. The individuals arrested, caught

- From the Field / gender, United States, Los Angeles, public order, tourism, order in public, women, beach, California, leisure, social order, moral order, clothing, bathing suit, seaside resort, resort town, Santa Monica

“Enfantillages”: photographing children (and their parents) in public space

Fabien Desage & translated by Oliver Waine — 2016-03-04T06:00:00Z

Why are children photogenic? Political sociologist Fabien Desage reflects upon his practices as a photographer and the reasons that make children in public spaces a particularly interesting and stimulating subject of visual investigation.
---- Series: Children in the City ENFANTILLAGE, n.m. Informal A. The state of being (like) a child. 1. Rare. Physical aspect that is characteristic of a child. 2. [Gen., pertaining to an adult] Lack of maturity; a tendency to act without thinking. (Near-)

- From the Field / public space, children, public order, photography, order in public, parents, street, authority, photogenicity, upbringing

What we can learn from babies' sociability

Carole Gayet-Viaud & translated by Oliver Waine — 2015-10-09T04:55:00Z

The sociability of very young children reveals a neglected dimension of relations and interactions in public, and highlights issues associated with ordinary urban contact that often go unnoticed. Civil interaction exhibits an inclination towards friendliness, a concern for others and the surrounding world, which, while admittedly limited and sometimes disputed, nevertheless contributes to an ordinary sense of belonging to a moral and political community.
---- Series: Children in the City

- Essays / public space, proximity, children, sociabilities, interactions, civility, civil inattention, education, teaching, common good, friendliness, order in public, socialization