week three_article three_blog six

Ellen Dunham-Jones_Temporary Contracts: On the Economy of the Post-Industrial Landscape

Sustainability. In contemporary times sustainability is electric. It is the hot buzz-word, the new band-wagon, the coolest catch-phrase. But beyond simple hype, what is sustainability? To sustain is to give support or relief to, to supply with sustenance, to nourish, to prolong, to buoy, and to support as just. Sustainability is the capacity for something to be sustained; of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods. As sustainability (cultural, historical, political, economic, architectural, agricultural, and certainly, ecological/environmental) becomes an increasingly important issue in contemporary global society, will we see the beginning of a shift away from the concept of the temporary contract, and its associated ‘values’ which Dunham-Jones identified in the late 1990’s? Are we not already beginning to witness such a shift? Consider recent concerns with environmental sustainability and sustainable building practices/architecture. Are these not examples of a move away from a cultural mindset centered upon short-term profit and minimal commitment? Perhaps, in the near future, the desire for many differing forms and applications of sustainability will become the driving force behind our cultural production and our cultural mindset. Will we see a corresponding/associated shift away from nomadic culture? Will architecture and other methods of cultural production once again become valued as “enduring cultural artifacts?” Is sustainability to become our new narrative?