The Spirit of the Time, or the Spirit of our Age, underlines the cultural context of each period. Stuart Mill in the 19th century already underlined that change was a key concept to understanding the current times. Today, change is still paramount to our dynamics and to the processes in which structures take place. From Johan Gottfried Herder in the 18th century (1769), passing through the 19th Century – where Arndt, Hegel, Carlyle and Mill wrote about the spirit of the time -, not to mention the contributions in the 20th century, many authors have explored this idea of a general cultural context. Raymond Williams in 1961, following a long tradition, also underlined the concept of structure of feeling.

The topics we present in the map above are part of the zeitgeist, an attempt to take a snapshot of our cultural moment – from the perspective of Lisboa, via a number of highly discussed topics that inhabit the collective imaginary. 

Our map and study follows closely the work developed by the former Trends Observer (a Portuguese database for the study of trends that worked until 2018, remaining as a repository for the next three years). It is important to underline that the conceptual process we follow for the study of the Zeitgeist in the perspective of Trend Studies was built, initially, under the guise of Trends Observer, and some of our researchers participated in the endeavor.

The solution to study and present the major topics of the zeitgeist considered the approach proposed by Gick and Gick (2007) – in terms of an axis model adapted from a CBS model – and McCracken (2015) – in conceptual terms regarding fast / slow culture and the dichotomy between cool and status. It is also important to underline the contributions in terms of cultural mapping by the works of Stock and Tupot (2015; 2020), which help to contextualize a cultural diagnosis of the zeitgeist and inform a linguistics based process for trend identification. And even other networks like What´s Next by Richard Watson, with a perspective more associated to forecasting. However, instead of a more statistical and mathematical approach used by these authors, Trends Observer wanted to pursue a more critical and qualitative approach. Following these references, and others, they built a visual representation of the Zeitgeist in 2017, following the evolving work of N. Gomes, S. Rech, P. Alves and S. Cohen, that can be applied in the identification and understanding of Sociocultural Trends, but also in the generation of innovation insights of a strategic nature.

The results of the study and this map we now present in 2024 was based on the protocol articulated in 2016 by the Trends Observer (with the close participation of Nelson P. Gomes, Sandra Rech, Paulo Alves, and Suzana Cohen), where topics are positioned on an axis, as proposed by Evelyn and Wolfgang Gick (2007), going from a conservative perspective in one specter to an avant-garde one on the other specter. This is articulated with the conceptual foundations of Trends Studies, as well as the cultural dichotomy proposed by Grant McCracken (2011) between the Status and Cool concepts, or slow and fast culture.
Today, we take all theses contributions into account, articulating a circle formed from an axis where, as we already underlined, one specter represents a traditional perspective, associated to the idea of status, slow culture and a conservative view; while the other specter represents an avant-garde perspective, associated to the idea of Cool and fast culture. The Process to create this 2024 map starts with a group reflection – inspired by focus group methods -, where the lab researchers discuss what are the Topics (key-words/themes) that, for them, reflect the spirit and the main concerns of our time, from the perspective of Lisbon . The gathered information is discussed by confronting it with the results of other data e analysis developed by the Lab. After the data is systematized in sets of related topics, the researchers analyse each proposed topic and confirm if it is representative of the zeitgeist – this is important to rule out overlaps or misinterpretations. Inspired by the Delphi Model, the same group places each topic/keyword on the model. At the end of this stage, the circular map (the visual cultural contextual representation) is ready to be applied in the study of phenomena, objects or structures.

// Participating Researchers in the 2024 Zeitgeist Map: 8

// Former stages of research: 2012 – Generation of the Methodological Proposal and first Mapping;  2016 – Review of the Model with two axis and a dual analysis of the topics. Full mapping of the cultural topics and international research;  2017 – Review of the Model, going back to a single axis in a more inclusive and circular approach; 2018 – Methodological Review, adding and applying semi-structured analysis and ethnographic inspired practices to former methods.

Main References
// CARLYLE. T. (1829). “Signs of the Times” in Edinburgh Review, 49.
// GICK, Evelyn and Wolfgang Gick (2007). “Why the Devil wears Prada: The Fashion Formation process in a Simultaneous Disclosure Game between Designers and the Media”. Working Paper Series #147, Center for European Studies (Harvard University).
// GOMES, Nelson P., Suzana M. Cohen, William A. Cantú, Clarissa A. Lopes (2021). “Roteiros e modelos para a identificação de tendências socioculturais e a sua aplicação estratégica em produtos e serviços” in Moda Palavra, v.14, nº32.
// MCCRACKEN, Grant (2011) [2009]. Chief Culture Officer. How to create a living, breathing corporation. New York: Basic Books.
// MILL, John Stuart (1986). The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XXII – Newspaper Writings December 1822 – July 1831 Part I, ed. Ann P. Robson and John M. Robson, Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
// STOCK, T. and M. L. Tupot (2015). Mapping Culture. New York: ScenarioDNA inc.
// STOCK, T. and M. L. Tupot (2020). “Pre-emptive Culture Mapping: Exploring a System of Language to Better Understand the Abstract Traits of Human Interaction” in T. Ahram et al. (Eds.) IHSI 2020, AISC 1131, pp. 567–572.
// WILLIAMS, Raymond (1961). “The analysis of Culture” in The Long Revolution. London. Chatto & Windus.