Space and Place

The section of Tuan’s book that struck me was the end of his “Experimental Perspective” chapter.  It is in this section that Tuan begins to explain how “places and objects define space” (17).  Additionally, Tuan explains, “An object or place achieves concrete reality when our experience of it is total” (18).  Therefore, since experience defines objects and place, and objects and place define space, experience helps to define space.  This concept, though confusing at first, becomes clear by the end of the chapter.  Though a person may “know” a place through pictures, movies, or stories, it may still “lack sharpness unless we can also it from the outside and reflect upon our experience” (18).  It is the experiences one has with a place or an object that makes it a unique space.  For example, senior year of high school I visited many colleges.  Through tours I was able to get a general vision of each college.  However, since I had to pick only one school, I view the other schools I visited “through the eyes as tourists, and from reading about it in a guidebook” (18).  It is my four years of experience at St. Mary’s that make this a unique space for me.