POÈME : la POïesis à l’Ère de la MEtamorphose = POEM: POïesis in the Era of Metamorphosis

Looking at a number of habitats disconnected from consumer society, this thesis explores how autonomous and “poïetical” ways of doing and making turn out to enact in concrete terms the recurring — but, so far, mostly theoretical — theme of “poetical dwelling”. Using the notions of the “poetical” as well as its Greek root of “poïesis” — closely linked with the idea of physical and organic transformation — this study questions the relation between linguistic and cultural productions on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the material aspects of lifestyles driven by an urge for socio-economic emancipation. As this research shows, autonomous habitats can first be characterized by how closely their metabolic elements are intertwined. However, their real specificity lies in the way these physical enmeshments develop and irradiate at the aesthetic and symbolical levels, weaving together the interior and the exterior, the human and the non-human, matter and meaning. Seeing these various webs enfolding throughout autonomous habitats casts a new light onto ecological habitations reassessed as poetical “weaving machines”, while mankind is brought closer to the caddisfly, the insect employed by jewellers for the fine golden sheath it is able to weave around itself using what lies in its surroundings. Through the specific lens of the “poetical” category, this thesis therefore documents the daily making and maintaining of this golden sheath within ecological habitats. While doing so, it showcases in a fresh and unprecedented way the embodied — and political — nature of language and imagination.