Chapter 5: Place and Placelessness in American History

The author addresses the historical questions concerning place and placelessness. Sense of place is defined by the author as, the making of place consciousness. Whereas, placelessness is defined as, the feeling belonging in no particular place.
The author’s argument concerning place and placelessness is that the value we associate with a place will shape our sense of place .What is the author’s argument(s) about historical question they are trying answer? The sense of place is determined by many things, as discussed by the author. “My observations concerning the importance of place attachments in American life stem not only from my own experiences and research but also from a burgeoning scholarly literature in environmental psychology, folklore, and cultural geography, as well as history and nature writing” (Glassberg, 2001, p. 112). Thee author goes on to discuss our sense of place as adults. The sense of place reflects imprints of childhood environmental attachments; however, it is further developed and reinforced by the social networks we participate in as adults.
I find this argument to be persuasive because my personal sense of place does come from childhood memories and experiences. However, as I grow older as an adult I have a more developed sense of understanding what that place represents through various interactions. This further established the notion discussed in chapter one; sense of history and sense of place are inevitably entangled.
The author continues on to discuss six axioms for thinking about place in America.
1. Sense of place does not spring naturally from the environment – individual understand places differently depending on how they have experience them, which is then shaped by social characteristics.
2. Places, in the end, are not interchangeable with other places – We make places by first building upon or preserving nature, then we remake those places by attaching our memories and meanings to them.
3. Place values are rooted in the material world – Though our values are shaped by personal background, social, and cultural norms, it is hard to value the invisible. We hold ceremonies, erect monuments, and mark historical site/district to make places visible.
4. We experience places as overlapping locales with permeable boundaries –significant places in life are in multiple locales. We live in one town but also identify with another – root for its sports teams, follow its weather.
5. We articulate a sense of place in dialogue with others – sentimental attachment to place remains subconscious and only emerges in conversations with others, usually when the places important to us are threatened (sense of ownership).
6. Our sense of place and history are inextricably intertwined – every place is also a sense of time.
Overall, I found this chapter to be informative. It enlightened me on defining place as well as placelessness. A key strength for this article is the six axioms for thinking about and discussing place in America. It allows me to further develop my personal sense of various places by thinking about the six proverbs and understanding where that value I associate with the place comes from and why.

Reference:
Glassberg, D. (2001). Sense of history: The place of the past in American life.
Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.

Chapter 1 - Sense of History

The author addresses the historical question concerning the creation and development of the sense of history. Sense of history as defined by the author is “a perspective on the past at the core of who they are and the people and places they care about.” Ultimately, the sense of history mirrors the intersection where the intimate and the historical perspectives meet.

The author’s argument concerning the sense of history is that people, places, events, and experiences develop one’s sense of history. This sense of history may vary from person to person. The author used his own life experiences to support his argument. The author starts off with stories of how he developed his own sense of history; two tables helped him in this process. The first table at John Hopkins University where he and his cohort sat around a table rumor to have been held prominent historians, such as Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Baxter Adams, and Fredrick Jackson Turner. The second table, referred to as the “green table” while a seasonal ranger, where he gained a wider range of what history could mean. For example, during his stint as a ranger he encountered the Puebloan people. The Park Service did not consider them o be historic, but, prehistoric. Instead, they could the town further down and built a few years ago historic.

This argument of what creates and develops the sense of history is indeed persuasive and I find it to be valid. At the most intimate level, he mentions autobiographical memory and reminiscence, the way people form a coherent personal identity and sense of self in reviewing their past experiences. In addition, communication about the past within families. In our ancestors’ experiences, history is made. History is then past down. My personal sense of history is composed of people, places, events, and experience; not all belonging personally to me. For example, the African American struggle during the Civil War and the later the Civil Rights Movement is apart of my sense of History.

As the author continues to discuss the origins of the sense of history, he notes that the intimate places for learning will inevitably interact with public places, such as the study of politics and collective identities, the study of pop culture, and the study of environmental perception. Unveiled is the subject of the book; public histories. The sense of history and sense of place are inevitably entangled by human nature. I liked the oxymoron “new histories.” I like that Glassberg addressed the future of the profession in the new century and understanding the organization of tradition in society has a history. This will greatly assist new Historians to ground their scholarly identity in the larger culture, as well as understand the institutional contexts in which they will operate.

Overall, I found this chapter to be more than interesting; I found it to be intriguing. I definitely desire to read further into the book itself. I believe I will learn and be enlightened by this author.