Encounterism: The Neglected Joys of Being in Person
The light touch of a hairdresser's hands on one's scalp, the euphoric energy of a nightclub, huddling with strangers under a shelter in the rain, a spontaneous snowball fight in the street, a daily interaction with a homeless man--such mundane connections, when we closely inhabit the same space, and touch or are touched by others, were nearly lost to "social distancing." Will we ever again shake hands without a thought?
In this deeply rewarding book, Andy Field brings together history, science, psychology, queer theory, and pop culture with his love of urban life and his own experiences--both as a city-dweller and as a performance artist--to forge creative connections: walking hand-in-hand with strangers, knocking on doors, staging encounters in parked cars. In considering twelve different kinds of encounters, from car rides to video calls to dog-walker chats in the park, Field argues "that in the spontaneity and joy of our meetings with each other, we might find the faint outline of a better future."
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Andy Field is Professor of Quantitative Methods at the University of Sussex. He has published widely (100+ research papers, 29 book chapters, and 17 books in various editions) in the areas of child anxiety and psychological methods and statistics. His current research interests focus on barriers to learning mathematics and statistics.
He is internationally known as a statistics educator. He has written several widely used statistics textbooks including Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics (winner of the 2007 British Psychological Society book award), Discovering Statistics Using R, and An Adventure in Statistics (shortlisted for the British Psychological Society book award, 2017; British Book Design and Production Awards, primary, secondary and tertiary education category, 2016; and the Association of Learned & Professional Society Publishers Award for innovation in publishing, 2016), which teaches statistics through a fictional narrative and uses graphic novel elements. He has also written the adventr and discovr packages for the statistics software R that teach statistics and R through interactive tutorials.
His uncontrollable enthusiasm for teaching statistics to psychologists has led to teaching awards from the University of Sussex (2001, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019), the British Psychological Society (2006) and a prestigious UK National Teaching fellowship (2010).
He′s done the usual academic things: had grants, been on editorial boards, done lots of admin/service but he finds it tedious trying to remember this stuff. None of them matter anyway because in the unlikely event that you′ve ever heard of him it′ll be as the ′Stats book guy′. In his spare time, he plays the drums very noisily in a heavy metal band, and walks his cocker spaniel, both of which he finds therapeutic.
From the history of the haircut to the mystery of The Jetsons, Andy Field is the freshest, most down-to-earth, most constantly surprising (and endearing) explorer of urban life I've read in a while. He seems to know everything, but he carries himself lightly. And whether he's guiding us into mass snowball fights on the streets of London or the meaning of holding hands, this unmet stranger cheerfully reminds us all of the value of touch and the virtue of trying to see the world anew.--Pico Iyer, author of Autumn Light
Andy Field's book reawakens us to the neglected majesty and beauty of the everyday. His book returns us to a childlike state of wonder. It's profoundly charming - and, in the best sense, lovely.--Alain de Botton, author of The Course of Love
It is easy to forget: life is a delicate matter of meetings and partings. Andy Field provides a gentle, beautiful reminder.--John Kaag, author of Hiking with Nietzsche
I loved this beguiling, uplifting debut by an artist, writer, and curator who specializes in human interactions. From the hairdressers's chair to sitting with others in a car, and fleeting meetings while walking in the park, Field examines the nature, grace, and importance of everyday, face-to-face human interactions...Prepare to be 'newly dazzled by the wondrous complexity of our interactions with each other.'--Caroline Sanderson "The Bookseller"
