Sharing the heritage: heritage narratives in the age of social media
Chairs: Fabio Pollice & Antonella Rinella (University of Salento)
The interest of geography towards media, as well as their role in the processes of place-building and shared enhancement, suggests new and innovative perspectives for both theoretical and applied analysis. Place narratives and related representations, as well as construction processes therein subtended, are an example, and their study is the base of Placetelling™(Pollice, 2017). Placetelling™ is an ongoing methodology aiming to:
- Promote place-based and local-oriented narratives, able to trigger endogenous local development according to the principles of sustainability (illustrative narrative);
- Communicate and transmit place identities to those belonging to other cultures and contexts, so to stimulate an empathic experience and, more generally, boost local attractiveness (attractive narrative).
In other words, Placetelling™ aims to underline the spirit of the place, mostly inspired by tangible and intangible heritage. However, the spirit of the place continuously re-shapes itself, starting from everyday spaces lived according to symbolic-cognitive paths deriving from the negotiation and re-definition of shared symbols and meanings; hence, to scrutinize the perceptions within those identity systems where symbolization processes take place is more and more relevant. In this sense, media are strongly representative of symbols and meanings layered in a given territory. Nevertheless, the more a territory is fluid, the more it is difficult to take the sense of place for granted, as it is called into question by the conflict between local community's shared values and non-locals' perceptions.
The reflection is not limited to the only place semiotics, as it becomes pivotal whether the symbolic layer of a place becomes the core of enhancement strategies for local development.
This session focuses on bottom-up narratives, delivered by both locals and non-locals, as those shared through social media. Hence, contributions could develop case studies dealing with specific modes of production and popularization of self-produced contents, as well as the evolution of iconemas, the development of bottom-up enhancement processes and the related role of Placetelling™.
Essential bibliography:
Dittmer Jason e Nicholas Gray (2010), Popular Geopolitics 2.0: Towards New Methodologies of the Everyday, in "Geography Compass",4, 11, pp. 1664 - 1677Dittmer Jason e Klaus Dodds (2008), Popular Geopolitics Past and Future: Fandom, Identities and Audiences, in "Geopolitics", 13, pp.437-457
Page Ruth (2012), Stories and Social Media, Taylor & Francis, New York
Pollice Fabio (2017), Placetelling®. Per uno sviluppo della coscienza dei luoghi e dei loro patrimoni, in "Territori della Cultura", 30, pp. 112-117.