Changing places: Meaning and Representation in Winchester Flashcards
Define ‘meaning’
relates to individual or collective perceptions of place
Define ‘sense of place’
the subjective and emotional attachment people have to a place (real-life experiences or knowledge of a particular area)
Define ‘representation’
how a place is portrayed or ‘seen’ in society
Define ‘place-memory’
refers to the ability of a place to make the past come to life in the present
- material artefacts or presentation of buildings
- relive past memories
Define ‘perception of place’
developed through what people have heard, seen or read about a placeq
What is meant by ‘place’
geographical space to which people have an attachment
What is meant by ‘location’?
Where a place is
What is meant by ‘locale’?
This is the place where something happens of is set, or that it has particular events associated with it
What is ‘perception of place’?
developed through what people have heard, seen or read about a place
- largely done through media representation
What is the insider perception of Winchester?
Frank Turner, a local singer-songwriter
- family and childhood based in Winchester
- affluent background
- sees winchester as a positive and friendly place
- however his purpose is to sell records so he is hoping to buy into other people’s childhood nostalgia or others with shared positive memories
What is the outsider perception of Winchester?
Winchester University USA students
- “life changing experience”
- beautiful place to live and study
- major defining moment for their lives and future
- however they have to sell the experience to others by validating choice and imply that the university has status
According to Relph (1976) who is an insider to a place?
“to be inside a place is to belong to it and identify with it, and the more profoundly inside you are the stronger is the identity with the place”
As an insider to a place, how are your feelings or perceptions about a place likely to be different to an outsider?
- likely to oppose new developments (NIMBY) than outsiders, e.g. new housing estates, wind farms, fracking proposals
- more likely to be protective the place, for example migrants have been met by lots of resistance (however greatly worsened by media)
What are other factors affecting perceptions of a place?
- personality
- feelings of belonging or alienation
- the significance it may have (e.g. City of Mecca in Saudi Arabia)
- positive or negative experiences can greatly vary attachment
Why is place important to identity?
Sense of place is developed in relation to our own home and local area
important on a number of scales: localism (identifying with local place), regionalism (political regimes) and nationalism (common language, national anthem, flag, sporting events)
