Lynn Staeheli defines place in many ways throughout the writing, not only the basic definition, but place as context, place as a cultural or socail location, place as a physical location or site, place as a socail process and many other ways. I never would have thought about thinking about a place in so many ways. I think a place as simply just somewhere you can go as a physical location. When she talks about women in Western citied being out of place because they are involved in industry, politics, and commerce I guess i never really considere that being out of place because although women have not been completely equal in America they have had more opportunities here then they have over in other parts of the world. So when I see a woman in a high powered job I dont consider them being “out of place” because in my lifetime it isn’t uncommon here in America. Place obviously has more than one meaning, but I would have never known if I didn’t sit down to think about it. The word seems like such an easy concept to undersand, but there is more than meets the eye.
Place
31 08 2009
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While it is possible to think about other people as being “out of place” in certain situations or societies, I would also encourage you to think about how being “out of place” affects a person, and different ways that you may be “out of place”. I find that, with many individuals, feelings of being out of place are situational rather than societal. To put yourself in a situation where you are “out of place”, think about a time (or about a time when someone else) has been marginalized or oppressed based merely on the color of their skin, ethnicity, nationality, or gender.
Think about how these different definitions of place can help you reconceptualize your ethnography and different ways that you can incorporate a new and dynamic thinking of place into your paper.