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Senses of Place
Document Type: Open Access
Degree Program
Hotel & Tourism Management
Degree Type
Master of Science (M.S.)
Year Degree Awarded
2008
Month Degree Awarded
May
Primary Subject Category
Communication
Secondary Subject Category
Cultural anthropology; Geography; Regional planning & development
Keywords
social construction of reality, interdependence of place and identity, role of language in meaning making, epistemology, place-making in hospitality and tourism
Advisor(s) or Committee Chair
Lowry, Linda L
Abstract
This thesis puts forth a model for analyzing and understanding the social construction of the concept of place. The Place Deconstruction Model (PDM) consists of a decentered and a centered perspective. The decentered perspective identifies three instances of sense making, at the levels of perception (crude place), meaning making (constructed place), and the building of artifice (commodified place). The centered perspective accounts for the subjectivity of the observer, as determined by memory, expectations, and the experience of the here and now. The method of analysis involves the juxtaposition of spatial (space, place identity, place image), temporal (time, history, heritage), and social (being, self identity, self image) lenses that require adjustment of parameters such as perspective and unit of analysis. The findings derived from the application of this model have both academic and practical applications.
Recommended Citation
Cighi, Catalin I., "Senses of Place" (2008). Masters Theses. Paper 116.
http://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/116
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