Doctoral Researcher at the University of Turku
I study plastic waste — micro- and nanoplastics — in Nordic urban environments, asking what it means to inhabit cities where plastic is ubiquitous yet largely imperceptible.
I am a doctoral researcher in Landscape Studies at the University of Turku, funded through the JUNO Doctoral Programme in the Humanities. My work sits within the Degree Programme in Digital Culture, Landscape and Cultural Heritage.
My research examines plastic waste — particularly micro- and nanoplastics — in Nordic urban environments. I am drawn to the material that hides in plain sight: how plastic saturates the places we live while remaining, for the most part, beneath perception. Through embodied and speculative forms of inquiry, I look for ways to engage environmental phenomena that resist direct observation.
What it means to inhabit cities where plastic is ubiquitous yet largely imperceptible — and how we live among it.
Tracing the presence of plastic across Nordic urban environments, with Turku as a close and grounded case.
A phenomenological approach to the sensory (in)visibility of plastic waste and how it registers — or fails to register — for us.
Methods that engage environmental phenomena difficult to perceive directly, joining humanities inquiry with material encounter.
Doctoral dissertation · in progress
The dissertation explores what it means to inhabit cities where plastic is ubiquitous yet largely imperceptible, and how embodied and speculative forms of inquiry can engage environmental phenomena that remain difficult to perceive directly.
Ongoing reflections from the project, published as Plastic Waste Sensibility — reflections on plastic waste sensibility in the Nordics.
Continuous Otherwise · Substack
A personal blog where I think alongside the everyday — tracing how small, ordinary encounters open onto larger questions of individuation, perception, and change.
Email neylan.aular@utu.fi
Affiliation Digital Culture, Landscape and Cultural Heritage · University of Turku
ORCID 0009-0004-0859-5544
Elsewhere UTU profile Research portal Google Scholar ResearchGate LinkedIn Are.na Continuous Otherwise