The Studies
Study 1: Perceiving Place, Perceiving Self in Space: “The Land Itself Was Calm”
Farm pond, Saline County, Kansas - © Carol SchryerThis study explores the significance of our natural environment for communication, culture and sense of self. It presents the findings of interviews conducted with residents of three different ecosystems and associated cultural groups. The study takes a phenomenological approach to apply Heidegger’s notion of Being-in-the-World and is also grounded in the work of human geographer Yi-Fu Tuan. Participants were asked to speak about the significance of place and space in their lives. The responses reveal the ways in which these participants’ sense of self is connected to place via sensory input and how their intuitive ways of knowing the world speaks to the primordial materiality of Being-in-the-World Heidegger called Dasein.
Keywords: perception, identity, self, place, space, communication, Tuan, Heidegger [Study available upon request]
Study 2: “I’m Just Kind of Land”: Finding Self in Place
This project explores the significance of our natural environment for communication, culture and sense of self. Theoretically, the study integrates the work of human geographer Yi-Fu Tuan into communication theory and builds on his notion that as humans, we rarely think about what we know, as opposed to what we know about. Key underlying assumptions guiding this inquiry are that humans construct a sense of self through their senses and that this emerging self manifests itself in intrapersonal and interpersonal communication. The paper presents the results of 20 interviews with residents of the Midwestern United States and Calgary. The participants were asked to speak about the ways in which they perceive and communicate about their everyday environment with a specific focus on each of the senses – touch, taste, smell, hearing, and vision. The responses reveal the kind of knowledge individuals hold about their interaction with their environment.
Keywords: environment, communication, identity, self, place, space, Tuan [Study available upon request]
Study 3: The Call of the Wild: Temagami Topophilia
What draws us to wild landscapes? Why do some feel “at home” in places most find inhospitable? Why do we choose to live in remote locations despite economic and physical hardship? Geographer Yi-Fu Tuan describes these emotional connections between humans and their physical environments as topophilia (“love of place”). This study attempts to articulate the significance of the Temagami landscape in northeastern Ontario in shaping shared identity and culture of its residents.