Experiencing Place: An Auto-Ethnography on Digging and Belonging

Steve Brown

doi:10.5130/phrj.v23i0.5327

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Published: Dec 30, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5130/phrj.v23i0.5327

Keywords:

Material culture, place, attachment, heritage, archaeology, community, suburbia

Steve Brown

University of Sydney

Abstract

This article is concerned with personal heritage and the role of material things in the construction of place-attachment. My interest lies in interrogating my own sense of place-attachment (or belonging) to my home. I argue that personal experience can provide comparative information for investigating other peoples’ experiences of their ‘special places’. That is, by critically reflecting on my own connectivity to place I aim to gain a base-level of data that informs my understandings of other peoples’ experiences of place; that is, the social values of heritage places and/or archaeological sites. I argue that self-awareness and reflexivity are important tools in the work of archaeologists who seek to recognise and respect personal and communal place-attachments.

Issue

Vol. 23 (2016)

Section

Articles (PEER REVIEWED)

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