A Quick Look Back

Reading week is almost here and it feels as if classes have barely begun (although the stack of homework burning a hole in mind would beg to differ). But to the question: "What’s surprised you? Any suspicions confirmed/undermined?"

I have to be honest and say that the initial distinction we made between Space and Place took me by surprise, or it at least got me thinking in a completely different way about the world I inhabit. It seems to me that there are variety of ways to accomplish this transformation; however, in my mind, the physical act of walking is at the top. Rebecca Solnit, in her novel Savage Dreams, talks about how walking forges a connection with the landscape, how we embed places into our "web of experience". In other words, walking rips us away from our sterile position as a voyeur and immerses us in de Certeau's everyday, in the chaos of life.

Suspicions? Somewhat confirmed. I knew from the outset that Edmonton had experiences to offer that were outside my normal place of habitat, and 380 has shown this to be true, yet I still can't grasp a coherent image of the city. But maybe Edmonton is a city that resists being labeled with any definitive meaning? Better question maybe?: What does Edmonton enable me to do?Does it increase my power to act?

Nostalgia, Destroyer of Places?

After reading Brenda Mann's "Places of Refuge", I was struck by how memories from past places can be influenced by simply revisiting them in the imagination. How often do we reconstruct places in our mind in order to align them with our current view in life? In other words, can new experiences shape places from the past?

During Darrin Hagen's talk to our class yesterday, he reminisced about the places that used to be pillars of the underground community. I wonder what his conception of these places used to be? The fights, the rumours, the drugs--are these thoughts and experiences still lurking in between the rubble, or inside the walls of the newly constructed buildings? Or has nostalgia infiltrated these past experiences and warped them to cohere to the past that we want to remember?

Personally, I feel a similar feeling of creeping nostalgia when I think back to my days as a labourer in my parent's household / gulag. The chores that were once the bane of my existence are now (mal?)-formed into wonderful family gatherings. Me, outside, cutting wood, -30 degrees--now a blissful interaction with nature.

The domicile of my past has been forever warped by the experiences I have accrued away from home (or maybe my parents propaganda is finally taking grip). My question: Is it possible to reform the places from our past without nostalgia or other events seeping in to warp it? Or are we entrapped in our own subjectivity? And if so, how can we be objective as possible when revisiting our pasts?

In defense of Hitotoki 2.0

The most interesting map that we discussed in class today for me was definitely the Hitotoki map, which came in two different versions: classic and the newer twitter-like version. During the last segment of class, when we were prompted to discuss the maps, both Erika and I found that the newer version of the Hitotoki site was actually quite interesting. One of the main draws of this style is that it is up to the user to search through the different posts / geo-tweets in order to find the ‘best’ ones. Obviously this involves more time, but I see it as being more interesting than simply being presented with authoritative material from an editor. With the new style of Hitotoki the user becomes the editor, which allows for each individual’s perspective to shape the way they not only use the site, but also what information is deemed to possess quality.

Moreover, the posts on Hitotoki vary in many ways: eloquence, style, information, and perspective. I feel that this mixture gives the site a more inclusive picture of the citizens of a city, as not everyone can perform the poetic manoeuvres that warrant editorial review, and I believe that these people should still have a place to put forward their experiences. And sometimes the contrast between the simplistic banality of one post can provide a powerful contrast to a more nuanced view.

However, I don’t mean to diminish the quality of the classic version in advocating for the newer version of the site. Both versions offer unique experiences. I just felt like the newer version was getting beat up on... :)

Place -> Local

Just as rushing water carves away at the stone embankments of a canyon, so do our lived experiences at the limits we place on the city. When I first moved to Edmonton my knowledge of the city was disjointed. I knew of a few malls, and maybe even a park or two here and there, but there was nothing to link these various budding-places together in my mind. However, as time progressed I began to venture further and further out, pushing my personal city limits continually outward.

I have new perceptions of the Edmonton now that I have lived here for roughly 4 years. The limits that surrounded me previously still exist, but now they're more akin to hurdles, able to by leaped over when the situation calls for it. These limits are now smaller in height, but the rate of outward expansion has slowed down. I believe this is partly due to the size of my previous habitat: an oil/forestry town called Whitecourt, which is just 2 hours north-west of Edmonton. It seems that I have taken the boundaries of my old habitat and transposed them onto Edmonton in an attempt to replicate a town-like experience. I'm still trying to decide if this is a favourable undertaking.

Looking inside my limits I can see that my area of habitation has completed its transformation into place, however, it has stalled on the path to its more intimate form: the local. And honestly, I blame myself. If the city is a text, as de Certeau would have us believe, then as a citizen of this city I must assume my role as a character in its ongoing story; I need to embrace a state of becoming-local (Sorry, I blame 302 (Note: I may butcher Deleuze, but I will have fun doing it!)); I need to enter into the community and experiment with it, instead of merely dismissing it without inspection. I'm hoping that my CSL placement with the Alberta Public Interest Research Group (APIRG) will give me this opportunity.