Human Place

By Jaymi Quincey 

People use narrative to make a space a place. “Speech is a component of the total force that transforms nature into a human place” (Tuan, 1991). I also believe social media allows people to use narrative in order to make the internet into a ‘human place’. Supporting Tuan’s argument, The Indigenous Australian people would use narrative to explain existence as mentioned by Chatwin (1987). Narratives like this for Indigenous people told history, explained the world, as well as mapping the country though songs, impartially song lines (Chatwin, 1987). The first Australians used narrative not only through speech, but through song and dance arguably making nature into a human place. 

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Even though the internet is a man-made creation, people use narrative to make it their place, human place. “Our sense of our self, comes most from the narratives we tell ourselves” (Kuttainen, 2015). Facebook impartially gives the ability to self-narrate, sharing our experiences not only for ourselves but for the people we connect with, making this space a place, a place to share. Facebook allows people to share more than personal written narratives, also we can share and view “Style, modernity and popular magazines” (Kuttainen, 2013) although these are shared differently to the way they were published in the early 1900’s. All these aspects involved in narratives whether it be the paradise described in magazines (Kuttainen, 2013) or our lives we have described on our Facebook, they are describing and creating our place in nature or in virtuality through narrative written and visually.

Similarly to the indigenous people or the paradise Islands, the space we make a human place is shared. The place we create on social media is also defined by the users who can participate in your place. Commenting on your opinions, your pictures, your narrative. My place isn’t just mine, but also the people I allow to share it. 

Reference:

Chatwain, B. (1987). The Songlines. London: Jonathon Cape Ltd.

Indigenous Australians. (2015). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians

Kuttainen, V. (2013). Telling Stories: Australian life and literature. 1940: Style, modernity and popular magazines: Writing Pacific travel. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 5: Stories and Places. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Tuan, Yi-Fu. (1991). Language and the making of place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Vol. 81, No. 4. pp. 684-696. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Image:

Hahn, J. (2014). Etree, Solar Tree (Image) .Retrieved from http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/solar-powered-trees-planted-israel-charge-smartphones-cool-water-offer-free-wi-fi/