Looking back with Postdoc Indrawan Prabaharyaka
LolMyPaper While existing studies primarily celebrate Stuttgart as a successful case study of the application of climatology in urban planning, the papers I have written and am writing instead make visible how this success is laden with spatial conflicts, such as street protests, legal litigation, and scientific controversies related to the maintenance of fresh air corridors (Frischluftschneisen).
It’s all about that space. The CRC concept that does the most heavy-lifting in my work is the trajectory space (Bahnenraum). This is because the existing elaborations of this spatial figure are based on human movement (i.e., streets, railways, oceanic and aerial routes), and are therefore often taken to be synonymous with transportation. In contrast, fresh air corridors are mainly about ventilation, and it is obviously airflows, not vehicles, that move. This is an under-researched topic in the CRC, namely, different spatial logics for entities whose sociopolitical subjectivity cannot be modelled on the existing Western notions of personhood.
Looking back, the advice I would give to my past self, who was just starting an academic career is this: Be courageous. Say what you need to say. Write what you love to write. Make your own kind of music.
A day in a life. A typical day in my life as a postdoc looks like this: At around 6:30 AM, I wake up and hang out a bit with my partner and our daughter. After that, I go for a jog and then take turns with my partner to feed our daughter while we feed ourselves. After this morning circus ritual, at around 9:30 AM, I go to the office, sit in front of the computer screen, doodle and write until around 4 PM. When I get back home, I play with my daughter, bathe and prepare her for the long night’s sleep. Once she’s asleep, I relax and read some papers, books, comics, probably watch the news for 15 minutes, and then read some more to help me get sleepy. I repeat this daily routine at least two to three days a week.
It’s all about the spatial arrangement. My ideal writing setting is a room where I can be alone. The room should have at least one window and be as quiet as possible. I even rent a working space near where I live so that I can achieve the spatial setting with the greatest comfort and least distraction for my writing. Beyond that, in less ideal situations (e.g. in trains or cafés or other noisy public spaces), I use designed earplugs to minimize distraction and force my body to focus on myself and the work I am doing.
When you know, you know. I did my PhD in anthropology and now I do my postdoc in a sociology department. I learn a lot about discipline and organization from the sociologists who look more structured than the seemingly bohemian anthropologists.
Back to the future. The advice I would give to new researchers starting out in the next phase of the CRC is to take some time at the very beginning of the project to clarify your research and develop your trajectory. Often, researchers receive a research proposal that has already been made by the PI, and that creates a tricky situation because you eventually need to teach yourself how to become a more independent scholar.
Author Bio: Indrawan Prabaharyaka is a postdoctoral researcher at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and a research associate in the CRC 1265 subproject C05 “Urban Microclimate Planning Regime”. He has been studying the application of climatology in urban planning in Stuttgart.