Like a Child in a Supermarket : Locational Meanings and Locational Socialisation Revisited
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
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| Description | “Have you ever seen a mother after a wandering child has unloaded one entire supermarket shelf onto the floor?”, Lyn Lofland asks in The World of Strangers. Her question invites us to consider two related concepts, both of which address the relationship between space and cultural knowledge: first, locational socialisation refers to a process through which we learn to code and understand particular locations: a supermarket is a place to shop, not to play – as opposed to a playground, which is where one can play, but one is expected to share the slides and climbing frames with others. Second, locational meanings are those bodies of knowledge which are transmitted through the process of locational socialisation. Lofland argues that understanding these meanings turns us into competent users of supermarkets, catholic churches, children’s playgrounds or illegal casinos. At the same time, the meanings of places are subject to change through their use. |