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This article explores the historical transformation of mindfulness, through a process of transculturation and commodification, into a biopolitical tool and analyzes possible future scenarios in which this tool will acquire even greater biopolitical strength through the integration of technological devices and artificial intelligence applications, particularly focusing on the growing divide between mindfulness-based therapies and traditional meditation. While both methodologies share the common objective of providing health and psychophysical benefits, they differ fundamentally in their theoretical frameworks, with mindfulness being egolatric and performance oriented while traditional meditation emphasizes transcending psychophysical identity. The development of mindfulness has been influenced by the sociocultural context of neoliberal and capitalist societies, resulting in a model that fosters self-regulation and emphasizes social control. The article also examines the potential biopolitical risks arising from the integration of AI-powered tools into mindfulness-based therapies. The increasing use of digital devices and applications for monitoring physical and mental health may contribute to a society characterized by constant self-surveillance and self-monitoring, reinforcing biopolitical control of the body. Consequently, this raises critical questions regarding the limits of surveillance and the potential exploitation of vulnerabilities through the incorporation of AI-powered tools.

Abstract: In the flourishing entertainment culture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries women were omnipresent on stage, showcasing their physical prowess as dancers, acrobats, trapeze artists, and animal tamers. However, the extent of their involvement behind the scenes remains relatively unknown. This paper explores the often-overlooked contributions of women in the management and workforce of the nineteenth-century funfair business in Western Europe, shedding light on their pivotal role in shaping and driving the success of these captivating spectacles. Within the funfair context, women were engaged at various levels, occupying positions as roundabout proprietors, stallholders, and managers of traveling shows, including theaters, menageries, wax museums, and puppet booths. Their involvement spanned across multiple facets of the funfair, encompassing both the administrative and operational aspects of these diverse attractions. Through a comprehensive analysis of historical sources and records, this study aims to unveil the significant influence wielded by women in an era where their participation in the public domains was limited.

Abstract The late nineteenth-century harbour districts, or so-called ‘sailortowns’, are generally depicted as deterritorialized ‘enclaves’ of heightened globalized transience. However, these neighbourhoods were just as much shaped by semi-durable local labouring communities. This article studies lodging houses as facilitators of global and local entanglements in harbour districts from a socio-cultural perspective, with Antwerp in the late nineteenth century as a case-study. Analysing the spatiality, materiality, sociability and people of the lodging phenomenon, it reveals that next to the highly transient seafarers, sailortown accommodated a diverse yet largely local population of small entrepreneurs and their families right between transience and permanence.

Abstract: This is the dataset for the article 'Projecting the World. The Mediated Geography of the Projection Lantern in Belgium c.1900-c.1920' with Thomas Smits. The dataset contains announcements and reviews of lantern lectures published in Belgian newspapers. The studied newspapers provide an accurate overview of the Belgian newspaper landscape in three sample periods (1902-1904, 1914-1918, and 1922-1924). We considered the different ideological backgrounds (Catholic, liberal, and socialist) and the language of the publication (French and Dutch) and focussed on the two largest cities of Belgium at that time: Antwerp and Brussels. Using different search strings, we identified 8,230 announcements and reviews for lantern lectures, published in 45 different newspaper titles. We included all types of performances (travel, economic, religious, etc). Next to the geographic references, we also recorded: the newspaper and its production date, the date of the performance, the speaker and their profession, the location of the performance, and, when available, information on which images were shown and the reaction of the audience. Taking into account that some lectures were announced and discussed multiple times, our final dataset consists of 5,673 unique lectures of which 2,570 have a spatial reference (45%). We identified three levels of spatial references: continent, country, and city. If the announcements mentioned a place in one of the last two levels (country or city), we completed the parent levels. For instance, we filled in Europe and France for lectures that mentioned Paris. We recorded place names as they were mentioned in the newspapers but also normalized the spatial references to modern-day cities and countries (see methodology). This is an abbreviated version of the dataset collected for my doctoral dissertation 'From 'Magic' to 'the Masses' Mapping the Lantern Lecture Circuit in Antwerp and Brussels, c.1900-c.1920' (University of Antwerp). You can e-mail me for the larger dataset. In the article, we analysed the dataset using Jupyter Notebooks which can be found in the GitHub repository: https://github.com/tpsmi/projectingtheworld

Abstract: As large-scale mining (LSM) companies and other commercial actors capitalise on a demand boom for Congolese cobalt, they have framed artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) spaces as problematic and illegitimate to make themselves appear “cleaner” than locally legitimate artisanal mining. Firms have emphasised the negative facets of artisanally mined cobalt, characterising their own production as “clean” and problem free. Capitalist actors’ framing of artisanal mining spaces as “illegitimate” or “dirty” is a powerful narrative that produces significant consequences. First, ASM, a minority of total cobalt production, becomes the focus of negative publicity; this framing erases the negative impacts of LSM. In turn, illicit “taxation” by public and private security forces at LSM sites is overlooked despite its systemic, organised nature. Next, the framing obscures the multiple interconnections between ASM and LSM. Finally, the framing of ASM spaces allows capitalist actors to claim these spaces to reshape and “organise” them.