Introduction to the Topophilian blog

One of many signs hanging on the old tobacco shed.

This may be the initial post but I'm just going to jump in as if into an ongoing conversation. Topophilian is a blog about Sense of Place and its many concepts. What I mean by this will be borne out as the process of blogging unfolds. But, in short, "place" concepts and references will be explored from a more-or-less social science perspective but in an accessible way. My broader academic goals include exploring the role of "place" in communication of science, risk, and environmental issues. Topophilian is but one part of that larger effort.

The photo here is one I took recently while on a visit "home" to Southeastern Minnesota. Geographically represented here by the "Tri-County" region served by the Rural Electrical Cooperative, where my father worked for 40+ years, this is where I grew up. The uneven line to the right of Winona and Houston counties represents the Mississippi River. The whole of my childhood is rooted in this region, the unique "Driftless  Area" that covers parts of MN, WI, IL, and IA. The bloodflow of the driftless zone is the rivers and creeks serving as tributaries to the mighty and gorgeous Big River herself.

To be sure, a signal people provide regarding their relationships with meaningful places is through the stories they tell. I like stories. This blogging project, if done correctly, will likely add up with many ongoing and overlapping "storylines" spun together and unraveled all at once. It is through such personal narratives that deeper psycho/emotional relationships to physical locations are often given voice. How we talk in and about our communities has consequences for the different sorts of of identities we develop, the various dimensions of our relationships with each other, and the lives we choose lead. It can extend from the very personal to the global way in which we view and process information in the world.

When sense of place is strong, it has been useful in explaining people’s outlooks, perceptions, behavioral beliefs, social capital building, and political activity, among other variables. Meanings held for particular places come forward through this social discourse context. These meanings are geographically located, simultaneously related to their social, economic, and cultural surroundings and give individuals what has been called a ‘subjective territorial identity.’

Stories I will tell, links that will be offered, and perhaps posts more closely related to creative writing rather than academic investigation will elucidate my own ongoing story as well as the living narratives of others. Posts will likely be made weekly rather than daily and my aim is to try this for a year. Wish me luck.