Poetic Film Approaches to Nuclear Waste Communication
Lennert Rödel, a student at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt, is currently spending time with the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University in Kalmar. With a background in design, he aims not only to deepen his theoretical understanding but also to create a short film that poetically explores the challenges of communicating about nuclear waste.
We asked Lennert about his work and why he is visiting the campus in Kalmar.
What is your research about?
My research focuses on the long-term communication of information related to nuclear waste repositories. Specifically, I am investigating how knowledge about these sites can be conveyed across vast time scales in order to prevent future human intrusion. This involves exploring strategies for designing communication systems that remain intelligible and credible for societies whose cultural, linguistic, and technological contexts may be drastically different from our own today.
Why do you want to spend time with the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures?
During the previous semester, I had the opportunity to meet Cornelius Holtorf, who encouraged me to visit the UNESCO Chair in Kalmar. Being immersed in an environment of experts working on heritage futures provides invaluable intellectual support and critical feedback. Additionally, I am eager to engage with scholars from diverse disciplines, as their perspectives can enrich my understanding of long-term communication challenges and broaden the methodological scope of my work.
What do you hope to contribute during your time with the Chair?
Coming from a design background, I intend not only to advance my theoretical thesis but also to produce a short film that engages in a poetic way with the questions of nuclear waste communication. I am currently enrolled in the course Film as a Research Tool, through which I aim to develop an initial conceptualization of the final film. By the end of the semester, my goal is to present a compelling animatic that conveys the core ideas of the project and demonstrates the potential of design-driven visual research within the context of heritage futures.
- I am pleased to welcome Lennert Rödel to our Kalmar campus, says Cornelius Holtorf, Professor of Archaeology and holder of the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures. His addition to our team strengthens our commitment to working with heritage futures and addressing future-oriented issues related to nuclear waste communication. His approach and interest in film will likely be of interest to several research groups at Linnaeus University.