Lesson 4-Categories of Place

Question 1

What are near and far places?

Answer 1

• Because of globalisation, faraway places no longer seem so distant, and our perceptions of place can now include places far away.
• Near places-We can consider near places in a purely Geographic sense - the area or region near to you. However, it could also be a place near to your heart e.g. the town you grew up in but moved away from.
• Far places-These could also be viewed in two ways - places that are far away geographically or have a distant connection to someone emotionally. Also known as distant places.

Question 2

What is the difference between experienced and media places?

Answer 2

• Experienced places are ones in which a person has actually spent time. This could even be for a short period, but the person has the experience of being there. The longer we spend in places, the stronger our sense of place.
• Media places are places that a person has only read about or seen within various forms of media such as on film, in print, on social media or on the Internet. Such is our exposure to social media today, that people can generate an experience of media places without having ever physically been there.

Question 3

Does the media portray rural/urban places accuratley?

Answer 3

• For a long time the countryside has been ‘idyll-ised’ and countryside living has been stereotyped as involving happy, healthy and close-knit community experiencing fewer problems that city living
• Geographer Paul Cloke as looked at rurality and argues that magazines like Country Life, television like Doc Martin reinforce these images

Question 4

How is India perceived in the media?

Answer 4

• Different trailers like Slumdog Millionaire which portrays Indias atmosphere as serios and dark at times but ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ shows a more comical side to India
• These different portayals may create unintentional unconcsious biases which may acctually hinder investment

Question 5

How can apps impact our perception of place

Answer 5

• These can “distort” the way we view places. Some images are edited – some are paid advertisement. Unless they are geo-tagged; they might not even be of the place which it states – which we do not know.

Question 6

What is othering?

Answer 6

• The term “othering” refers to the process by which a dominant group (the “in-group”) defines and marginalizes a different group (the “out-group”) by emphasizing perceived differences. This process creates a distinction between “us” (the Self) and “them” (the Other), often leading to the devaluation and discrimination of the out-group.
• For example, during colonial times, Western colonizers often “othered” indigenous populations by portraying them as “savage” or “primitive,” thereby justifying their domination and exploitation

Question 7

What is orientalism?

Answer 7

• Orientalism is a way of seeing that imagines, emphasizes, exaggerates and distorts differences of East peoples and cultures as compared to that of Europe and the U.S. It often involves seeing Eastern culture as exotic, backward, uncivilized, and at times dangerous.”