UVM Theses and Dissertations
Format:
Print
Author:
Hayes-Conroy, Jessica S.
Dept./Program:
Geography
Year:
2005
Degree:
MA
Abstract:
This thesis examines the geographical concept of 'place' through a case study of the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE) in Plainfield, Vermont. In this study, place is considered to be not an entity but an unfolding process, which is layered, contextual, contested, and never complete. As such, place is explored as a 'Thirdspace' of lived experience (Lefebvre 1991) and moreover as a social construction that is not given but invented or made. In this case, the invention occurs through the actions and decisions of those affiliated with the ISE. The construction of place is therefore also regarded as a practice: something that we can be(come) aware of, have control over, and learn to do better. This work takes a dialectical approach to the study of place construction through an examination of binary opposites: local/global, flatlander/woodchuck, urban/rural, and theory/practice, as they are experienced in Plainfield, Vermont. By examining the ways in which these oppositional forces interact to construct and reconstruct place, this study explores how politics and ideology are deeply embedded in the place-construction process. In doing so, the 'hidden' hierarchies and inequalities of spatiality are uncovered through a discussion of (social/political/economic) networks. The data collection for this case study was conducted over a five-month period from May to September of 2004. Methods for data collection included participant observation and in-depth interviews with students and faculty at the ISE, and residents in the town of Plainfield. The results of this study highlight the need in both activism and academia to become more aware .of the concept of 'place: ' generally, as a social construction, and specifically, as a process that is driven by binary opposition and influenced by the hierarchies and inequalities of social life. As such, this study suggests that the ISE might want to regard place construction more consciously as a 'practice,' and to engage in 'network jumping' as a renewed form of praxis.