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Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology

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In his effort to instruct how to look at our world, how to give the world meaning, how to measure the degree of sociality and symbolization of a given space, Auge forcefully opposes the concept of “place” with “non-place.” According to Auge, a non-place is not relational, not historical and not concerned with identity. For example, Auge begins his discussion with the model of the airport terminal as a non-place, in its mobility, its ability to transport, its multiplicity of functions and anonymity; a non place, such as the airport terminal, mediates a large variety of relationships. What I take issue with is not necessarily the specific example he chooses, but rather the stark contrast he draws between a place and a non-place. By opposing these two concepts, he removes the individual as agent, as the one interacting with a specific “space.” Why can’t a distinct “space” be a non-place for one person while simultaneously a place for another? An airport terminal for me is definitely relational (I make random friends while sitting in the terminal since talking to the strangers calms me down), historical (the literature on the walls documenting the history of the building, the construction of the plane, and the layout of the runway) and concerned with identity (in my conversations with strangers I am constantly defining, or redefining myself, providing a slice of who I am). Perhaps this has developed out of my phobia of flying, and therefore my accompanying feelings of nervousness, fear and hatred that the airport embodies; does phobia then concretize a non-place and transform it into a place?

Another example raised in class last week, the elevator, also needs to rely on the situational, on individual interaction with the space to be able to define it as a place or a non-place. For example, I grew up in an apartment building in New York City and my building was my personal, indoor playground. My best neighbor friend and I would endlessly ride the elevator; we were not traveling anywhere specifically; we were not in the space for any strictly functional purpose. We rode the elevator as a game--- we spied on people and took notes; we would climb on the railings and push the ceiling boards up; we would press all the 15 buttons and stop on every floor (yes, we were terrors). Our elevator escapades even led to my friend’s step-mother forbidding us from riding the elevator together for a few months to punish our bad behavior. So, as opposed to Auge’s singular, rigid definition of a non-place and a place, I would argue that the same elevator ride for my friend and me, at one specific time, had a very different meaning and relational interaction with the space, than it did for the other passengers in the elevator.