Dérive

In psychogeography, a dérive (French: [/de.ʁiv/], "drift") is an unplanned journey through a landscape, usually urban, on which the subtle aesthetic contours of the surrounding architecture and geography subconsciously direct the travellers, with the ultimate goal of encountering an entirely new and authentic experience. Situationist theorist Guy Debord defines the dérive as "a mode of experimental behavior linked to the conditions of urban society: a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances." He also notes that "the term also designates a specific uninterrupted period of dériving."

History

The concept of the dérive has its origins in the Letterist International of the 1940s, an artistic and political collective based in Paris, where it was a critical tool for understanding and developing the theory of psychogeography, defined as the "specific effects of the geographical environment (whether consciously organized or not) on the emotions and behavior of individuals." The dérive, an unplanned tour through an urban landscape directed entirely by the feelings evoked in the individual by their surroundings, served as the primary means for mapping and investigating the psychogeography of these different areas.

Dérive (magazine)

dérive – Zeitschrift für Stadtforschung is an Austrian science magazine on urbanism.

History and profile

dérive is published quarterly since 2000 by the Vienna based Verein für Stadtforschung.

The journal publishes articles from a broad range of urbanism disciplines such as architecture, urban and land-use planning, art, geography, sociology, or philosophy. Articles from urban sociology include contributions from Loïc Wacquant and Saskia Sassen.

Name

Dérive is a concept of psychogeography that includes unplanned journeys through urban space. The individual travels where the subtle aesthetic contours of the surrounding architecture and geography subconsciously direct them, with the ultimate goal of encountering an entirely new and authentic experience.

Networks

The magazine is part of the European network of cultural magazines Eurozine.

Urbanize

the journal also hosts the annual festival urbanize on urban issues.

See also

References