How do children perceive the ocean and its inhabitants? What are the links between their marine imaginations, cultural representations and scientific knowledge? These questions are at the heart of the innovative research being carried out by Mascha Canaux as part of the Ocean & Climate Priority Research Programme. Since 2023, her thesis work has combined ecology, literature and art to explore the relationship between younger generations and marine biodiversity.
By Carole Saout-Grit and Laurie Henry
Art and science: an alliance to transform our perceptions
Marine imaginations often influence our understanding of the world and our decisions. This is particularly true of the younger generation, who are often captivated by fish or large marine mammals but have little interest in the microscopic creatures of the ocean, which are as essential to the balance of marine ecosystems as they are largely unknown.
Mascha has begun work on her thesis in 2023, within the 3LAM laboratory (Languages, Literatures, Linguistics) at the University of Angers, to elucidate the way in which marine imaginations are often disconnected from scientific realities, and to find out how to remedy this.
Students share their stories with Mascha Canaux, La Rochelle 2024 © E. Tamene
Her research focuses on children aged between 6 and 10 living in coastal areas of mainland France, a population that is key to understanding how marine imaginations are constructed, but which is not very visible in studies of the blue humanities.
At the crossroads of the humanities, the arts and the ecological sciences, Mascha seeks to establish an inventory of these children’s marine imaginations, while comparing their visions with scientific knowledge. To this end, children’s perceptions of marine environments are studied through drawings and interviews, as well as by analysing a corpus of artistic and literary works – particularly children’s books. These materials reveal not only the cultural influences that shape their representations, but also the gaps in their understanding of marine ecosystems.
The analysis details the agreements and discrepancies between perceptions of life in the marine environment and scientific knowledge on the subject. The survey areas cover various oceanic and maritime zones of mainland France. The aim is to determine what is the result of specific local or national perceptions, as opposed to what is more widely shared between different places due to common cultures.
Fieldwork for the thesis: french coastal primary schools.
Towards an ecopoetic laboratory of planktonic blue narratives
One of the most striking results is the almost total absence of plankton, both in children’s drawings and in analyses of artistic and literary works aimed at young people. Yet plankton is scientifically known to be the first link in the food chain and a key element in climate regulation.
To remedy this shortcoming, research is highlighting the importance of the eco-zoo-phyto-poetic arts. By giving plankton a central place in children’s literature, for example, it would be possible to awaken children’s curiosity and respect for these creatures, which are often perceived as ‘aliens’. The aim of reducing the gap between scientific knowledge and popular perceptions, while cultivating a deep ecological sensitivity, could then be achieved and encourage greater awareness of ecological challenges.
Examples of children’s drawings collected during Mascha Canaux’s thesis © Mascha Canaux
Impact on educational and cultural policies
Funded for three years by the PPR Océan & Climat, Mascha’s thesis is being co-supervised by Bénédicte Meillon from the 3LAM (Languages, Literatures, Linguistics) laboratory at the University of Angers, and by Marion Verdoit-Jarraya and Philippe Lenfant from the CEFREM (Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens) at the University of Perpignan.
This research work is part of the innovative approach taken by the PPR, which aims to share with the general public the discovery of the ocean and the associated societal issues, and to connect all citizens to the ocean by combining art and science.
This major cross-disciplinary survey paves the way for a much-needed transformation in our relationship with living things. By highlighting the importance of plankton, it will show how profound changes in our imaginations can go hand in hand with concrete action to preserve the oceans. Children’s marine imaginations are not just a curiosity, but a key to rethinking our relationship with nature and future generations.
Plankton, the first link in the food chain and a key element in climate regulation.
Well beyond the academic sphere, the results will be put to good use in scientific mediation and are likely to influence educational programmes and cultural policies. In-depth analysis of the relationships that humans forge with oceanic and marine environments will also help to achieve the objective set out by Vincent Doumeizel in the Plankton Manifesto launched at the UN in September 2024: that children should come to know the word plankton as naturally as they know the words cat, dog and lion.
3 Questions to Mascha Canaux
Why did you decide to do a PhD in marine sciences?
I discovered marine science quite late in life, even though my passion for ecology goes back to my childhood. It was my experiences in the field that immersed me in this world: I visited laboratories, went out to sea on missions, collected and observed plankton, from the Brest station to the Villefranche station, via Marseille, Banyuls, Concarneau and so on. This has given me a better understanding of the issues surrounding these complex ecosystems. In my thesis, I’m not directly producing biological knowledge, but I’m using its methods, thanks to the supervision of a highly qualified thesis supervisor. For example, I am using quantitative approaches to analyse precisely the species represented in children’s drawings, which function as a fictitious environment. My aim is to explore these dynamics in as detailed a way as possible, in order to highlight what is worth passing on in culture, and so enrich our relationship with living things.
What made you want to do this thesis? What were your motivations?
This thesis project offered me the unique opportunity to conduct research in direct contact with civil society, through field studies and numerous interviews. I was particularly motivated by the opportunity to explore issues that had not yet been fully explored, while at the same time addressing the issues raised by the PPR. My experience as an activity leader in a leisure centre has taught me to build projects not only for, but above all with, children. The financial environment allows me to take this collaborative approach even further and to draw up an in-depth inventory of the links between coastal children and their environment, for which it is essential to be out in the field, adopting a research-action and research-creation stance.
How do you see your future after this thesis?
I’d like to continue along a path that forges links between the sciences and the arts, because I’m convinced that they complement each other in raising awareness, particularly of species or ecosystems that are often ignored or not ‘charismatic’. My ambition is to continue doing research at the CNRS or in universities, taking advantage of the transdisciplinary opportunities that are developing but are still in their infancy in terms of methodology. At a time when so many initiatives of this kind are flourishing, it is vital to strengthen transdisciplinary literacy, by helping to train researchers capable of navigating rigorously between disciplines that could benefit from working side by side.
Référence : Canaux, Mascha « Cross-disciplinary study of the imaginary world of the sea among coastal children in mainland France », thesis 2023-2026
Contact : mascha.canaux@univ-angers.fr