Institute Seminar Series: Metaphors in the Mirror: Objectivation and Social Representations of Vertical Farming

Event details

Abstract

This talk examines how vertical farming comes to be constituted as an object of social representations through metaphorical processes of objectivation. Drawing on social representations theory, it introduces the Portrait Chinois as a projective technique for eliciting the metaphors through which meaning is negotiated around emerging agri-food technologies. Participants from a range of stakeholder groups - including procurers and retailers, vertical farmers, conventional farmers, policymakers, scholars, and NGOs - were invited to respond to a series of ‘if vertical farming were…’ prompts. The analysis shows how metaphors render an unfamiliar and complex technology socially intelligible, while revealing underlying values, tensions, and expectations. Methodologically, the talk highlights the value of the Portrait Chinois for accessing the symbolic and affective dimensions of social representations across diverse social worlds.

Contact us

Email ifs@surrey.ac.uk for the MS Teams link and with any questions.