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Article

Abstract

[First paragraph]

Place seems so simple - commonplace, in fact - yet the concept lies at the heart not only of rather complex geographic theory and practice, but also, arguably, of the arts, humanities, and sciences as a whole. Yi-Fu Tuan, in his magisterial Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience, establishes a powerfully spatiotemporal dynamic in which a place becomes distinctive, and this dynamic lends significance to all human experience of the world. For Tuan, a discrete or recognizable portion of otherwise undifferentiated space becomes a place when it occasions a pause, a resting of the eye, at which point that now distinctive spot becomes imbued with value and meaning. It thus becomes the province of literary art, subject to interpretation, as well as to affective appreciation and power. [1] If place is understood in terms of a pause, a moment of rest, then space is associated with movement, and likewise associated with that freedom but also peril that comes from being away from a home or being on the move. "From the security and stability of place, we are aware of the openness, freedom, and threat of space, and vice-versa." [2] In this somewhat phenomenological conception, the individual subject establishes a place through his or her experience and perception, while simultaneously being subject to a place and to the space, abstract or diffuse, against which it is defined. Place is profoundly subjective, but it is also a form of subjection.

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