| dc.description.abstract | People have a deep need to connect to places, but modernity has weakened many
of the traditional ways that people have bonded with localities. Geographers of the past believed that a core responsibility of geography was to describe places. This connection between geography and place education, however, has attenuated as geographers have become increasingly concerned with theory and have eschewed regional geography. This research seeks to revitalize the geographic tradition of topography (writing about small places) by examining its best works, while at the same time exploring new ways to connect people with places. It answers the question, “What lessons can we learn about place writing for non-academic audiences from the genre’s best examples, and how can these lessons inform the use of new media to connect people with places?” Examples of excellent topographic books and audio podcasts were analyzed to answer this question.
Based on a study of the topographic tradition, literature on place attachment, and
an empirical examination of topographic books, three essential features of a modern
public topography are proposed: 1) topography teaches people to appreciate particular places; 2) topography engages the general public; and 3) topography is inherently geographical. Topographic works that incorporate these elements are found to use one or more of three strategies for facilitating the appreciation of place: 1) an explanatory strategy; 2) a poetic strategy; 3) or an experiential strategy. Specific recommendations for the application of these features and strategies to topographic writing are given.
These essential features and strategies were used to analyze audio podcasts about
small places. The result is a series of recommendations for the creation of topographic podcasts. To illustrate the utility of these recommendations, a podcast about the influence of the Brazos River on the landscape of Texas’s Brazos Valley was produced, along with an accompanying webpage.
This research suggests that while modernity has created significant obstacles to
place attachment, a new interpretation of the old geographic tradition of topography has the potential to reduce those obstacles and to help the public to better appreciate places
obstacles to place attachment, a new interpretation of the old geographic tradition of topography has the potential to reduce those obstacles and to help the public to better appreciate places.Based on a study of the topographic tradition, literature on place attachment, and an empirical examination of topographic books, three essential features of a modern public topography are proposed: 1) topography teaches people to appreciate particular places; 2) topography engages the general public; and 3) topography is inherently geographical. Topographic works that incorporate these elements are found to use one or more of three strategies for facilitating the appreciation of place: 1) an explanatory strategy; 2) a poetic strategy; 3) or an experiential strategy. Specific recommendations for the application of these features and strategies to topographic writing are given. These essential features and strategies were used to analyze audio podcasts about small places. The result is a series of recommendations for the creation of topographic podcasts. To illustrate the utility of these recommendations, a podcast about the influence of the Brazos River on the landscape of Texas’s Brazos Valley was produced, along with an accompanying webpage.
This research suggests that while modernity has created significant obstacles to place attachment, a new interpretation of the old geographic tradition of topography has the potential to reduce those obstacles and to help the public to better appreciate places. | en |
