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| PLACE AND IDENTITY: THE RETHINK OF PLACE OF EUROPEAN-AMERICAN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY |
| ZHU Hong1,2, QIAN Jun-xi1, CHEN Xiao-liang1 |
1. School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China;
2. School of Geography, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China |
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Abstract The concept of "space" is one of the most fundamental of geographical concepts. There is no work in geography that does not certain it. And after widely use of humanistic geographical approach, scholars within European-American human geography have paid great attention to the social and cultural construction of the concept of place. In particular, under the background of globalization, the deterritorializing and homogenizing effects of global forces have given rise to the reassertion, rather than the vitiation, of the salient role of place as a center around which meanings and identities are constructed. On the one hand, the concept of place is based on human subjectivity and everyday interaction between human and place through existential experiences. On the other hand, place is always intertwined with the construction of identity. Individuals and social groups identify their positions in the whole social and cultural structure, using the meanings of place as reference. As the terms of dwelling and habitation suggest, place can be a metaphor of self-existence, thus knowing place is to know self. The authors point out that the concept of place is essential in understanding how personal or collective identity is shaped within the epistemological framework of time-space. The understanding of place and its meanings is closely associated with how individuals or social groups identify themselves in the complex network of social, economic and cultural relations. In this sense, identity can be mapped in the grid of places. In recognition of the vital role in constructing the identities of individuals and social groups, the authors review the relevant literatures within European-American human geography researches in regard of the dialectical relationships between place and identity. Also, the authors propose a framework from four aspects including the relationship between space and place under the context of modernity and modernization; the diversified and dynamic nature of place-based identity; the relationship between power and the construction of place-based identity; and the discussion on globalization and its consequences for place identity.
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Received: 02 July 2010
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2010, Vol. 25 
