The Five Rings: Fire
The Symposium was held on August 18–20 2021 as a hybrid event, taking place both at the Sibelius Museum in Turku and online.
The control of fire radically changed the course of human evolution hundreds of thousands of years ago, but to this day we have not been able to master it completely. Fire has a dual nature in a figurative sense as well. In terms of personality traits and emotions, it can be equated with inspiration, zeal, and fervor, but also rage and fanaticism.
ABOAGORA 2021 continued the five-year thematic plan The Five Rings and brought together viewpoints from social sciences, cultural studies, natural sciences, literature, music, and visual and performance arts to explore fire as both a literal and a metaphorical element.
Fire
Fire, if uncontrolled, can rapidly cause massive destruction and devastation. On the other hand, even disastrous wildfires can leave behind better conditions for new life and, when carefully harnessed, fire provides warmth, power, and a useful instrument for numerous purposes.
After the previous three-year thematic cycle The Threads of Fate, in 2019 Aboagora launched a new five-year thematic plan for 2019–2023 under the title The Five Rings.
The title refers to the book The Book of Five Rings, written in 1645, by Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵, c. 1584–June 13, 1645). He was a Japanese swordsman, philosopher, writer and rōnin – a samurai without a master. Musashi became renowned through stories of his masterful double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 61 duels. Many consider him the greatest swordsman that ever lived. Near the end of his life, Musashi retreated to live as a hermit in a cave, to meditate and write a manual of kenjutsu, Japanese swordmanship, and martial arts. This practical book extends towards a philosophy of life, aiming at simplicity and no-nonsense. Throughout the years, it has also been read by people rethinking ways to lead or do business. The Book of Five Rings (五輪書, Go Rin no Sho) is divided into five books, each examining a different element of battle, just as there are different physical elements in life in Eastern religions. The five Aboagora symposia in 2019-2023 delved into these elements: earth, water, fire, wind and void.
Agora lectures from Aboagora 2021 are available on ABOAGORA’s YouTube channel:
Rosa Liksom
Author and artist
Homo Sapiens on the Earth
Astrid Swan & Hanna Meretoja
Astrid Swan (songwriter/performer, author and a researcher) & Hanna Meretoja (Professor of Comparative Literature and Director of SELMA: Centre for the Study of Storytelling, Experientiality and Memory at the University of Turku)
Jules Rochielle Sievert
artist, a legal educator, a community arts educator and a social justice advocate
Finding Fire – A Radical Pedagogy that Combines Legal Education, Design & Law
David Bowman
Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, Director of the transdisciplinary Fire Centre, University of Tasmania
Fire Thinking, Fire Beings, and the End of the World as We Know It