Veranstaltungen

Why can we instantly picture Italy’s iconic boot, yet fail to see the shape of the Adriatic Sea around it? Likewise, we readily recognize a city’s skyline as a distinct figure, while the surrounding countryside fades into the background despite its influence on urban life. In this talk I bring together Gestalt psychology’s principle of figure–ground differentiation with the concept of spatial figures. Although originally devised for psychologically explaining visual perception, the figure‑ground framework also applies to spatial configurations beyond subjective sensory experience. Gestalt theory offers a relational, anti‑atomistic lens that explains how certain spatial arrangements become salient figures against a backdrop. I want to ask if integrating figure–ground dynamics can (1) supply an alternative way to relate spatial figures to one another in addition to and beyond a polycontextural perspective, and (2) help clarify processes of emergence, salience, and dominance of spatial figures (how specific figurations become salient, stable, or contested) and shifts in orientation.

Charlotte Renda studied Psychology and Sociology in Bielefeld and Lucerne and has earned her PhD from Bielefeld University, where she currently works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Sociology. She is interested in sociological theory, escpecially expanding systems theory by adapting its concepts to account for social phenomena such as affect and perception. Her research has explored different topics such as the role of emotions in organizational careers, the concept of emotional atmospheres, and ways in which absences are constructed and experienced during city walking tours.