Symbolic Place Research Articles

Wounded Detachments: Cronulla, Social Memory and the Injuries of Racism

ABSTRACTMore than a decade since the Cronulla Riots, it could be argued that we are none the wiser about what they meant. Frequently evoked in public discourse, ‘Cronulla’ has become a benchmark for the worst of Australian society (whether that is seen as racism or multiculturalism). This paper reflects upon the representation of the Riots to explore three key ideas. First, we need to think about Cronulla through an exploration of the situated processes of social memory. There is no single ‘meaning’ of the Riots. In fact, the symbolic place of ‘Cronulla’ in public discourse is a contested space in which competing interests, processes and perspectives are at stake. Second, social memory is a complex and dispersed architecture of remembering and forgetting, but analysis typically focuses on the institutional and collective dimensions of social memory at the expense of other domains. Third, and drawing on some of the theoretical literature, we explore a different kind of memory that is forgotten in political and media representations of Cronulla – the embodied memory resulting from the injuries of racism experienced by those of Middle Eastern background. We see Cronulla entailing a violent and existential threat which detaches them from full belonging in Australia.

Emergenza abitativa e pratiche informali. Il caso di Roma

The paper provides a short overview on the housing emergency in Italy and focuses attention on the case of Rome, where the struggles for the right to the city are rooted in a tradition of grassroots participation. It analyzes the experience of Metropoliz, in the area of Tor Sapienza, an informal and self made practice, a symbolic place where people, from different countries cohabit. Metropoliz beyond being a visible space of struggle, occupation and marginalization, is an example of Informal Urbanism and an urban laboratory of political, social and artistic sperimentation.

Geography and the outcomes of civil resistance and civil war

This paper reports the results of the first cross-national examination of the impact of the geography of nonviolent contention on regime transitions. Nonviolent tactics ‘work’ in part by signalling the preferences of non-participants through the symbolism of participants, unlike violent tactics. This opens the way for nonviolent campaigns to exploit variations in social-spatial meaning to enhance the informativeness of dissent. Capital cities are one such symbolic place and the main prediction of this study is a positive relationship between large protests and regime transitions in the capital, but not elsewhere. I also predict a strong direct relationship between the proximity to the capital of fighting in civil wars, and regime transitions; no relationship to the proximity of nonviolent contention; and that the intensity of violent conflict impacts regime transitions in a way that is largely independent of location. Results from an analysis of episodes of violent and nonviolent conflict from 1990 to 2014 generally support these contentions.

Libels in the City. Bill Casting in Fifteenth-Century Flanders and Brabant

Using evidence of fifteenth-century Flanders and Brabant, this article situates bill casting in the medieval Low Countries in its wider social and political context. Over the past few decades there has been a tendency to focus on the ‘symbolic act’ of writing and distributing pamphlets, rather than studying their contents and political impact. In this contribution, we do not contest the symbolic meaning of bill casting, but we do argue that the contents and language of a libel were significant - even the most significant - features that made them a dangerous weapon. From this point of view, casting a bill in a ‘symbolic place’ was considered a strategy to give more weight to the discourse and the arguments the pamphleteer used. Though it was often composed of a language of retribution in order to accuse governors publicly, the statements and the associations the libel made with other texts and ideas on government were primarily aimed at influencing a public debate on a political issue. The analysis of the libels under scrutiny in this essay shows that the pamphleteers considered the urban governors to be accountable for their deeds and, consequently, the latter were criminalised in the pamphlets because they claimed that the governors’ policies did not take the welfare of other citizens into account. Of course, a fierce discussion about whose welfare governors needed to pursue was an integral element of the conflict during which the libels were posted. The main aim of this seditious act was therefore to participate in that debate.

„Choć znałam tę rzekę tylko z wysokiego mostu, pozostanie dla mnie czymś najlepszym, co może być” – kresowe retrospekcje w twórczości Teresy Lubkiewicz-Urbanowicz

The paper tackles the theme of retrospection in the works of Teresa Lubkiewicz-Urbanowicz, based on her short story „Dzitwa” from the collection of short stories „Babskie Nasienie”. Vilnius Region was presented as a land where the author returns in a physical and metaphorical sense. Rakuciniszki – “the little homeland” – is a symbolic place for Teresa Lubkiewicz-Urbanowicz, and it was also described as such by the author. The nature and sensual perception play a special role in the narrative. The origin of the work should be considered the desire to define one’s identity, the search for answers to existential questions, as well as the need to consolidate the Eastern borderland area.

Sztuka i rytuały. Koji Kamoji i jego wizje nieskończoności

Sztuka i rytuały. Koji Kamoji i jego wizje nieskończoności

Artifacts of the Past as Traces of Memory. The Aromanian Cultural Heritage in the Balkans

<p style="text-indent: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%;" align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="pl-PL">Celem tego artykułu jest odpowiedź na kilka pytań: (1) jakie ślady materialnego dziedzictwa kulturowego Aromanów (Wlachów) odnajdujemy na terenach dzisiejszej Albanii, Grecji i Republiki Macedonii; (2) co mówią one o </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="pl-PL">społeczności lokalnej, jej historii i znaczeniu w kulturze europejskiej; (3) czy istnieje współcześnie aromańska pamięć zbiorowa dotycząca miejsc, w których zachowały się ślady tego dziedzictwa? W tekście dokonano opisu regionów, które zamieszkiwali Aromanie, zaprezentowano wstępne kryteria podziału ich dziedzictwa kulturowego na grupy, przypisując im wybrane przykłady zabytków, a także wskazano, jakie wybrane znaczenia i sensy związane z kulturą aromańską odkrywamy, traktując owe zabytki jako tekst kultury. </span></span></span></p><p style="text-indent: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%;" align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="pl-PL">W artykule wykorzystano jakościowe metody badań terenowych, w tym wywiady i obserwacje związane ze śladami tego dziedzictwa w wybranych miejscowościach Grecji, Albanii i Republiki Macedonii, wraz z wykonaniem dokumentacji fotograficznej. Badaniu poddano także źródła zastane (historyczne i etnograficzne) oraz zasoby dostępne w Internecie – przeanalizowano narracje dotyczące odpowiednich zabytków w źródłach etnograficznych (dawnych i współczesnych wspomnieniach Aromanów) znajdujące się w nowych mediach, w tym na blogach i portalach internetowych. W analizie posłużono się paradygmatem historyczno-porównawczym i interpretatywnym, co pozwalało na badanie ukrytych znaczeń i kodów kulturowych związanych z dziedzictwem aromańskim.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-indent: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%;" align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="pl-PL">Badania pokazały, że na terenie Bałkanów zachowały się liczne artefakty dziedzictwa kulturowego Aromanów, z którymi związane są rozmaite sensy i znaczenia (m.in. organizacja przestrzeni, przestrzenie realne i mityczne, wielokulturowość i konflikt). </span></span></span></p><span lang="pl-PL"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="pl-PL"><br /></span></span></span>

Theory of Architectural, Social Participation and “Contact” by Robert Zemeckis

The paper shows the importance of memory in architecture and how social participation influence the formation of cultural memory. The article examines the issue of the importance of memory and how the popular culture coexists with highly symbolic places. The research will be conducted on the case of the "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe" in Berlin, built by architect Peter Eisenman. The aim of the paper is to show that architecture of memorials restores ideas and messages to protect the community from future mistakes. Social participation supports shaping public spaces and thus participates in the creation of culture. Article points out that creating memorials is connected with a great responsibility, because they strongly affect our memory and guide future generations.

Theory of Architectural, Social Participation and “Contact” by Robert Zemeckis

The paper shows the importance of memory in architecture and how social participation influence the formation of cultural memory. The article examines the issue of the importance of memory and how the popular culture coexists with highly symbolic places. The research will be conducted on the case of the "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe" in Berlin, built by architect Peter Eisenman. The aim of the paper is to show that architecture of memorials restores ideas and messages to protect the community from future mistakes. Social participation supports shaping public spaces and thus participates in the creation of culture. Article points out that creating memorials is connected with a great responsibility, because they strongly affect our memory and guide future generations.

Theory of Architectural, Social Participation and “Contact” by Robert Zemeckis

The paper shows the importance of memory in architecture and how social participation influence the formation of cultural memory. The article examines the issue of the importance of memory and how the popular culture coexists with highly symbolic places. The research will be conducted on the case of the "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe" in Berlin, built by architect Peter Eisenman. The aim of the paper is to show that architecture of memorials restores ideas and messages to protect the community from future mistakes. Social participation supports shaping public spaces and thus participates in the creation of culture. Article points out that creating memorials is connected with a great responsibility, because they strongly affect our memory and guide future generations.

Theory of Architectural, Social Participation and “Contact” by Robert Zemeckis

The paper shows the importance of memory in architecture and how social participation influence the formation of cultural memory. The article examines the issue of the importance of memory and how the popular culture coexists with highly symbolic places. The research will be conducted on the case of the "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe" in Berlin, built by architect Peter Eisenman. The aim of the paper is to show that architecture of memorials restores ideas and messages to protect the community from future mistakes. Social participation supports shaping public spaces and thus participates in the creation of culture. Article points out that creating memorials is connected with a great responsibility, because they strongly affect our memory and guide future generations.

Historic city, tourism performance and development: The balance of social behaviours in the city of Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

Santiago de Compostela is an iconic place. From the 9th century through to the present day the city has acted as the final destination of a major pilgrimage route named after it. In the article we ask ourselves how the contemporary reinvention of the pilgrimage and pilgrimages on the Way of St. James has boosted tourism development in the city. Development has been concentrated in the historic city centre and in the area around the cathedral. The importance of tourism has transformed the significance of the city itself, which acquires a magical component as a place of arrival and encounter for all kinds of visitors. The historic city has been set up in the 20th century as a destination for the Way and for cultural tourism. The buildings, particularly those connected with the pilgrimage route, become highly attractive and symbolic places and tourists carry out a number of rituals in them. They travel and enjoy Santiago as a unique experience. The study of tourism and of the tourist transformation of Santiago de Compostela is undertaken using a qualitative and quantitative method. The article analyses the heritage and symbolic value of the historic centre, together with the growth of its tourism activities. Numerical data are also provided on the perceptions and behaviour of visitors using surveys carried out by the city's Tourism Observatory.

Symbolism of place and cultural identity in Cameroon

Each society on earth uses essential symbols which resemble the key ideas, attitudes and values that unite its members. Places are key symbols of many cultures around the world that shape the social, economic, religious, political and psychological aspects of a people’s world view. Its study, therefore, is of primary significance in the systematic reconstruction of a people’s cultural and spiritual experience and provides us with a reliable means of information about different subcultural zones of many a tradition. Oceans, mountains, forests, grasslands, deserts, lakes and rivers form the word’s generalized natural areas. Cameroon is one of the few countries in Africa that has been blessed with all the five broad symbolic places. It is this ecological endowment that must have influenced the authorities to refer to Cameroon as ‘Africa in miniature’. In other words, Cameroon is a microcosm of Africa. Since the life and spirit of Cameroonians are invariably affected by the contrasts in the ecosystems, we intend in this article to demonstrate how a place like mountains can provide an indispensable resonance of symbolization in the cultural evolution of Cameroonians and how the influence of a particular ecosystem like the mountain can be used to establish, consolidate and propagate cultural identity in Cameroon. We shall examine the symbology of each of the major ecosystems briefly before concentrating on that of the mountain.

일본문학 교육방법 고찰 - 텍스트 분석과 사진콘텐츠 활용을 중심으로 -

This paper suggests a Teaching Method of Japanese Literature, giving the text analysis on “Kamome Diner” by Yoko Mure with the aid of photographs showing specific landscapes in Finland where “Kamome Diner” takes place.This is the analysis on “Kamome Diner”. The reason why Sachie, Midori, Masako came to Helsinki, Finland was to escape the patriarchal system and double standards on women in Japanese society. Moreover, Kamome Diner in Helsinki is where Sachie, Midori, Masako started a new life together, standing as a symbolic place where the three ‘Mujirushi’ women find their own identities for themselves.Afterwards, the photographs of Helsinki, Tampere, Finland where “Kamome Diner” takes place have been provided. They are expected to bring vivid images to students’ minds and to fuel students’ interests in Japanese Literary works. This teaching method of Japanese Literature is more effective considering the fact that it enables students to approach the text with more interest. Therefore, Japanese Literature Education would be conducted in a more effective way when it incorporates not only the text but also various materials from all the different mediums such as pictures, movies and internet.Furthermore, this paper brings light to the possibility of a new course merging Japanese Literature with audiovisual contents and enables us to regard Japanese Literature as a gateway to becoming a more cultured being.

Edyta Stein w pamięci Wrocławia

The article seeks to explore the role of Edith Stein’s memory in creating the contemporary identity of the city of Wroclaw. The author distinguishes between two forms of this memory, that is to say remembrance and symbolic places (lieux de memoire). The places of remembrance of Edith Stein, who was born in Breslau, are connected with her biography and the time she spend in this city. The symbolic places of the memory of Edith Stein represent the values of her life (such as the European Peace Cross, meticulously analysed by the author). Both forms of memory variously transformed the space of the city in significant landscape.

Ludwik Norwid w świetle poszukiwania miejsca pochówku

The aim of this article is to reconstruct the circumstances of the funeral of Ludwik Norwid, which are still shrouded in mystery. The author gradually narrows down the area of her search to finally observe that – in a way parallel to the fate of Ludwik’s brother Cyprian – it is not possible to precisely locate the grave. Irrespective of the above, the grave is almost certain to be located in the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw, which could play the role of a symbolic place of remembrance, also in its current function of the family tomb.

Ludwik Norwid w świetle poszukiwania miejsca pochówku

The aim of this article is to reconstruct the circumstances of the funeral of Ludwik Norwid, which are still shrouded in mystery. The author gradually narrows down the area of her search to finally observe that – in a way parallel to the fate of Ludwik’s brother Cyprian – it is not possible to precisely locate the grave. Irrespective of the above, the grave is almost certain to be located in the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw, which could play the role of a symbolic place of remembrance, also in its current function of the family tomb.

The stone that mourns its victims: Haiti still recovering from its injuries and traumas 5 years after the 2010 earthquake.

On Jan. 12, 2010, at 4:53 p.m. local time, Haiti was struck by the largest earthquake in its modern history. The quake killed over 222,000 people, about 2.5% of the national population, and left more than 300,000 injured, between 4,000 and 7,000 amputees, and roughly 1.5 million homeless. Following the earthquake, studies were carried out to evaluate its impact on mental health. Depending on the age group and the time of assessment, prevalences ranged from 24.6% to 47.7% for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and from 26.0% to 46.2% for major depressive disorder (1–4). Studies also revealeddifficulties inmourning the deaths of those who went missing (5). The inhumation of corpses in mass graves without identification and without respect for any cultural ritual has greatly prevented survivors from mourning their relatives who perished in this disaster, as is described by participants in various studies carried out since July 2010 (2) and reported in other studies (6). In fact, as Kluger(7) suggested,whenthere isnograve,mourningbecomes endless. Indeed, according to figures from the Haitian government and international institutions, at least 180,000 corpses were put in mass graves without being formally identified (8). Moreover, to date, no list of victims has been established. In theabsenceof this list, forwhichnoofficial initiativehas been takenyet, thememorial of theearthquakehasbecomean important place of pilgrimage. Consisting of the stone shown here and its plate, on which is written in Creole “12 January 2010/We will never forget,” the memorial represents, symbolically, the solid remains of the disaster. Erected on the largest mass grave at the north entrance of Port-au-Prince, where between 70,000 and 90,000 corpses are buried, according to the authorities, it is a place of contemplation for relatives who pay tribute to victims at special occasions: birthdays,November1 (All Saints’Day), January12, etc. In the absence of tangible signs that can facilitate the grieving Memorial for the Haiti earthquake of Jan. 12, 2010 (photograph by Darwin Clormeus; used by permission)

모바일 멀티모달 센서 정보의 앙상블 학습을 이용한 장소 인식

Place awareness is an essential for location-based services that are widely provided to smartphone users. However, traditional GPS-based methods are only valid outdoors where the GPS signal is strong and also require symbolic place information of the physical location. In this paper, environmental sounds and images are used to recognize important aspects of each place. The proposed method extracts feature vectors from visual, auditory and location data recorded by a smartphone with built-in camera, microphone and GPS sensors modules. The heterogeneous feature vectors were then learned by an ensemble learning method that learns each group of feature vectors for each classifier respectively and votes to produce the highest weighted result. The proposed method is evaluated for place recognition using a data group of 3000 samples in six places and the experimental results show a remarkably improved recognition accuracy when using all kinds of sensory data comparing to results using data from a single sensor or audio-visual integrated data only.

Black (and Brown) Bodies Out of Place: Towards a Theoretical Understanding of Systematic Voter Suppression in the United States

The construct of place has largely been under-utilized, and, therefore, under-theorized, in social science discussions regarding systematic racial oppression, but we need to consider physical space or symbolic (i.e. social/political) place in our ideas about both racial identity formation and racial relations. During the Jim Crow era, blacks were expected to ‘stay in their place’, and that place was always subservient to the position of whites. Despite advances by racial/ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged groups, vestiges of this American Jim Crow belief system still operate in society. The author contends that recent widespread voter suppression efforts commencing en masse since 2010 are not a rejection of black bodies per se but a response to perceived black (and brown) bodies out of place. The article provides a framework to help illuminate the presence of continued systematic pushback against the advances of minorities amidst a growing discourse of colorblindness.