Description
The official Facebook page for University College Cork's 'Deep Maps - West Cork Coastal Cultures' project. Deep Maps is funded by IRC 'New Horizons' Grant Welcome to 'Deep Maps : West Cork Coastal Cultures' project page. We are an IRC funded initiative under the 'New Horizon' Grant scheme based at University College Cork.
From the mid-eighteenth century onwards, there exists a rich record of cultural engagements with places along the Atlantic littoral: responses in different cultural media by individuals drawn to the unique cultural and biological aspects of a unique maritime environment. The romantic period in particular sees a diverse range of such literary texts in the form of translations, original poems, tales and novels; as well as a significant body of sketches and paintings of sea and land. The enormous impact of the Great Famine on this coastline drew further attention to the area from writers, journalists, artists and illustrators. Later in nineteenth century, an important photographic record emerges, now preserved within the National Photographic Archive. Such texts capture information related to reefs, sea cliffs and vegetation; as well as representing such practices as farming, fishing and seal-hunting; and depicting historical processes including land use, work, family life and migration.
Writers, folklorists and painters who were drawn to Ireland’s south-west coast in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries encountered its particularities at a time before our modern division of the disciplines. In joining the research skills of a cultural historian with those of a marine biologist, the project promises to reconnect aspects of this maritime environment that are often disconnected in modern debates. In doing so, it responds to needs emerging from both humanities and science research: in the case of the former, the environmental humanities have posed urgent new questions about the scope and scale of human interactions with the environment as represented in literary and other texts; while in the case of marine biology, scientists are increasingly aware of the need to deepen and enrich their apprehension of marine environments via a more nuanced sense of the histories and cultures of these storied places.
The project investigates the biological, cultural and historical context of the south west coast of Ireland from 1700 to 1920. The focus is on the rich maritime environment that is found along the arc of Cork’s Roaring Water Bay, from Clonakilty to the tip of the Beara peninsula, as it is shaped by sea and land and as it is imagined within 18th -19th century cultural texts. The period to be researched begins with the emergence of wide-ranging antiquarian inquiries and poetic responses to the Cork coast and ends with the start of serious biological field research in this area. By advancing a transdisciplinary understanding of this coastline, the project forms a link between its cultural history, scientific research and environmental priorities while communicating a sense of cultural identity and fostering ownership of maritime heritage.
As community is at the heart of this project we would welcome your comments, feedback and information about everything West Cork's coast has to offer.
The Deep Maps Team!
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RECENT FACEBOOK POSTS
facebook.comWhat a wonderful day yesterday in Castletownshend West Cork 😊 The Deep Maps Cork team went in search of the site of Nelsons Arch, which was constructed in 1805.
We have moved our Deep Maps office to the beautiful landscape of Castletownshend today to go in search of 'Nelson's Arch'. This arch, as Georgina Chatterton explained, was erected in memory of Lord Nelson after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, by a party of officers after mass on a Sunday. To learn more visit our Deep Maps website: http://www.deepmapscork.ie/?p=1115
Admiring the Ocean to City & Cork Harbour Festival promotional video this morning and who do we see (at 0.47 seconds), only our very own Deep Maps Cork post-doctoral researcher Rachel Murphy! Rachel took part in the festival's lunchtime lectures, presenting on the topic of 'West Cork Fisheries 1700-1920' during the week long event in June. For more visit their facebook page and website! youtu.be/TvUrwl4xIdA
In this week's Deep Maps 'Policy & Legislation' blog series post, we look at 'The Nitrates Directive' and its role in protecting water quality from pollution by agricultural sources: http://wp.me/p7iU8k-15M To learn more about our 'Policy & Legislation' series, see: http://wp.me/p7iU8k-10p Don't forget to join us next Wednesday as we discuss 'The Irish National Biodiversity Action Plan'!
Another day of investigation and intrigue for the Deep Maps Team this week!
This time lapse video illustrates a process known as coral bleaching, which can occur due to ocean acidification. To learn more about these processes, and their causes, visit our Deep Maps blog post: http://www.deepmapscork.ie/?p=2451 https://www.instagram.com/p/BSyaA_QB3zC/
An interesting video clip showing the effects of microplastics on the plankton foodchain. We see here an example of a comb jelly's sticky tentacles catching plastic microfibres instead of food. The ingestion of microplastics has implications for marine organisms as a whole as studies have shown ingestion of large enough concentrations of pollutants or additives can reduce survival, feeding, immunity, and antioxidant capacity. These contaminants can then later enter the food chain potentially effecting humans in coastal and inland areas. https://twitter.com/PlanktonPundit/status/870702040770412544 To learn more about plastics and microplastics see our Derp Maps blog post: http://www.deepmapscork.ie/?p=853
This week we have been really fortunate to delve further into the UCC BEES Museum and Teaching Collection, in addition to accessing items pertaining to the West Cork coastal area from institutional colleagues and UCC's Department of Geography. We will have some exciting news to share soon so watch this space. In the meantime, enjoy these tantalising glimpses! #LoveIrishResearch
In this weeks 'Policy & Legislation' blog series post we look at the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and its role in achieving Good Ecological Status for Irish marine environments by 2020 http://wp.me/p7iU8k-14o Join us on twitter (@DeepMapsCork) as we go through some of the key facts and figures associated with this strategy!
Today's 'Policy and Legislation' blog post focuses on 'The Water Frameworks Directive', and its role in providing a legal structure to protect and restore clean water across Europe. http://wp.me/p7iU8k-13p As always we will be running a tweetathon from 12 - 5 on our @DeepMapsCork twitter account and sharing lots of extra information on this topic!
Some photographs from our Deep Maps boat trip around Roaring Water Bay
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