Paper requirements: Choose a physical location in your life that you consider to have profound meaning for you – this could be anywhere from the place of worship you attend, to a location you often go with friends/family, to a location in your own home.
Then I would like you to consider why you consider that undifferentiated space to be a place, a space imbued with meaning. In what ways has the process of place-making turned that space into a place-world, in Basso’s terms?
Important elements for your paper: Think about our recent discussions of the culture concept in anthropology, specifically the way in which symbols, norms, values, and traditions carry and transmit cultural meaning and help to create a sense that our experience of culture is stable and immutable . In your paper, you should identify at least one symbol, norm, value, and tradition that turns the space you choose into a place. You should define why each element is an example of a symbol, norm, value, or tradition, and how it functions for your social group.
