Do Acontecimento

At a time of calculation, rules and prevention all of a sudden emerges the unexpected, something that disrupts the course of events and threatens the flow of life. In a sort of paradox, the more one anticipates the accident, the more catastrophic and unmanageable it is when it occurs. It is understandable that in this respect the notion of Event, contingent and unpredictable, has been gaining ground to account for forces that exceed historical forms, either coming from Nature, like a catastrophe, or from within the history we make, widespread as a fire or an epidemic. There’s a certain amount of panic in the face of excessive force and the weakness of forms, even if a considerable part of human culture has been based on the wait for a decisive event, a revolution, through which peace or justice may triumph once and for all. Some bare witness to it, others announce it, and others lose all hope tired of waiting. Only art, thought and technique are able to respond to the Event and create the labyrinth where—much like the ancient Minotaur—we can be close to it and its power without the illusion of cancelling or controlling it.

ISABEL BABO holds an habilitation in communication sciences from the University of Minho, has a doctorate in sociology from the School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris and a degree in philosophy from the University of Porto. She is a researcher at CICANT – Centre for Research in Applied Communication, Culture and New Technologies, focusing on sociology of the event, sociology of communication, and theories of public space, media and networks. She has published books, articles and lectures on the media layout of events, media, networks, reception and audiences. She is a professor in and the director of the Faculty of Communication, Ar-chitecture, Arts and Information Technologies (FCAATI) of the Porto Lusófona University, of which she is the dean.