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.