Night Matters—Why the Interdisciplinary Field of “Night Studies” Is Needed

Christopher C.M. Kyba, Sara B. Pritchard, A. Roger Ekirch, Adam Eldridge, Andreas Jechow, Christine Preiser, Dieter Kunz, Dietrich Henckel, Franz Hölker, John Barentine, Jørgen Berge, Josiane Meier, Luc Gwiazdzinski, Manuel Spitschan, Mirik Milan, Susanne Bach, Sibylle Schroer and Will Straw
Additional contact information
Christopher C.M. Kyba: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam 14473, Germany
Sara B. Pritchard: Science and Technology Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
A. Roger Ekirch: Department of History, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Adam Eldridge: The School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster, London W1W 7BY, UK
Andreas Jechow: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam 14473, Germany
Christine Preiser: Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Universität Augsburg, 86159 Augsburg, Germany
Dieter Kunz: St. Hedwig-Hospital, 10115 Berlin, Germany
Dietrich Henckel: Institute for Urban and Regional Planning, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Franz Hölker: Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin 12587, Germany
John Barentine: International Dark-Sky Association, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
Jørgen Berge: Faculty for Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9019 Tromsø, Norway
Josiane Meier: Institute for Urban and Regional Planning, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Luc Gwiazdzinski: Géographe, Université Grenoble Alpes, 38100 Grenoble, France
Manuel Spitschan: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK
Mirik Milan: VibeLab, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Susanne Bach: Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, Universität Kassel, 34125 Kassel, Germany
Sibylle Schroer: Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin 12587, Germany
Will Straw: Department of Art History and Communications Studies, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada

J, 2020, vol. 3, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: The night has historically been neglected in both disciplinary and interdisciplinary research. To some extent, this is not surprising, given the diurnal bias of human researchers and the difficulty of performing work at night. The night is, however, a critical element of biological, chemical, physical, and social systems on Earth. Moreover, research into social issues such as inequality, demographic changes, and the transition to a sustainable economy will be compromised if the night is not considered. Recent years, however, have seen a surge in research into the night. We argue that “night studies” is on the cusp of coming into its own as an interdisciplinary field, and that when it does, the field will consider questions that disciplinary researchers have not yet thought to ask.

Keywords: night; night science; night studies; nyctology; interdisciplinary studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 I10 I12 I13 I14 I18 I19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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