Finding Self In Space

• The Studies

The Project

Research Questions

• How do humans know their natural environment?
• What do people know about their interaction with their environment?
• How do people experience their sensory interaction with their environment?
• What is the essence of human sensory experience of one’s environment?
• What does this essence reveal about the interplay of space, place, self and identity?

This research project builds on an understudied yet rapidly growing area of transdisciplinary interest in the significance of our natural environment for human communication and culture. In theoretical terms, it builds on the life work of human geographer Yi-Fu Tuan. In methodological terms, it seeks to reconcile journalistic practices of interviewing with intent to publish with traditional qualitative research methods. In applied terms, it synthesizes real-world experiences of humans in specific geographical settings. In disciplinary terms, it contributes to scholarship in communication, environmental studies, and human geography.

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