Understanding Sense Of Place Among Community Residents and Volunteers in Alaska
Open Access
- Author:
- Amsden, Benoni Lee
- Graduate Program:
- Rural Sociology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- July 23, 2007
- Committee Members:
- Richard Stedman, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Albert E Luloff, Committee Member
Cynthia Clare Hinrichs, Committee Member
Alan R Graefe, Committee Member - Keywords:
- volunteering
community
sense of place
photographic methods
Alaska - Abstract:
- Many people maintain a deep connection to the settings in which they live, work, and play. This connection is known as a sense of place, a theoretical construct encompassing the meanings, experiences, behaviors, and identities that people ascribe to particular geographic spaces. This project uses qualitative social research methods to examine sense of place. Specifically, it develops a detailed understanding of important places, the experiences and meanings that give rise to that importance, and the ways in which experiences and meanings contribute to the creation and maintenance of sense of place. The project utilizes two distinct data sets – one representing a setting context and one representing an activity context. The setting-based data was gathered from community members in Seward, Alaska, a town of 2,830 people located at the gateway to both Kenai Fjords National Park and Chugach National Forest. The activity-based data was gathered from Forest Service volunteers at the Russian River Campground, one of the most popular fishing and camping spots in Alaska. The data gathered in Seward (the setting context) revealed that sense of place is organized in terms of the landscape, with particular emphasis on the beauty of the surroundings and perceived threats to important natural resources; the community, and its relationships with history, pride, and tourism; recreation spaces, and their importance in both social and solitary settings; and Seward as a homeplace, with unchanging landscapes, friends, and family. The data gathered from the volunteers (the activity context) revealed that sense of place is organized in terms of the Russian River itself, with its unique landscapes and wildlife; interactions with like minded volunteers in and around the campground; recreation spaces at the Russian River and in Cooper Landing, and the campground as a place to teach and give back. This project confirms the interaction of meanings and experiences with important settings in the creation of a sense of place; reveals threats and risk as important place meanings; demonstrates that the experiences and meanings described by the Forest Service volunteers were in large measure based on place, in addition to activity; provides additional examples of the creation of sense of place from both direct and symbolic experiences; and confirms the importance of community as an ingredient of sense of place.