The Sense of Smell in Language and Society, and the Hope for a Multi-sensorial Future of Technology

Creative Language Technologies

This is episode #7 of the podcast and it’s Thursday, the 9th of December 2021. In today’s show, I am talking to Mr. Sayantan Ghosh, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Hiralal Mazumdar Memorial College for Women, affiliated with West Bengal State University. He is currently involved in research in the Department of Sociology at Jadavpur University in Kolkata. Mr. Ghosh explores the Sociology of Smell, the study of smell and society, literature and society, Indian social thinkers, philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore, study of religion and society. He is a passionate researcher of the sense of smell, hoping for a better future (or, as he likes to say), more fragrant future of humanity. He believes that we, as human beings, depend much more on our senses than we think, particularly on our sense of smell - as we judge and make decisions based on smell.
It is not so much about knowing aspects of the external world, as it is about knowing one’s own self. In our discussion, we touch on many important aspects such as logic and sensations in the Western vs. the Indian traditions, smell and language, smell and its connection to structural inequalities and urban planning, as well as sense impressions as they contribute to perception in people with sensory impairment. We conclude hoping for a multi-sensory future, addressing ways (including technological ones) to bring more awareness to our senses, especially to the sense of smell. Here is the show.
Show Notes:

- The sense of smell: Western view. vs. Indian traditions (Vyasa and Kalidasa): the separation b/w logic and intellect, on one side, and emotion, feeling and sensation on the other.

- ‘Indryas’: the gate of knowledge

- Smell and language: olfactory vocabulary of English and Bengala

- The importance of the senses in everyday life (in our occupations, the way we move around, what we eat, and in our intimate moments): How do we interact with different smellscapes and how are these shaped by culture? (i.e., as in Indian culture: food/spices, incenses in temples, etc.)

- The sense of smell and its connection to structural inequalities: the ‘unsmellables’

- Smell and the city: urban planning as well as olfactory planning

- Sense impressions and their contribution to perception (e.g., in people with visual impairment, etc.)

- The hope for a multi-sensory future: self-awareness and the senses, and ways (including technological ones) to bring more awareness to our senses, especially to the sense of smell
Links:
Professor Ghosh can be reached through his LinkedIn account (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sayantan-ghosh-66106a228/) and his academic webpage (https://hmmcollege.ac.in/index.php/Frontend/faculty?id=22)