FROM NON-PLACE TO PLACE: A STUDY OF EUROPEAN PUBLIC SPACE AS A SPACE OF IDENTITY

Master Erasmus Mundus Crossways in European Humanities

The objective of this dissertation is to analyse the role of public places, in its literal sense, in modern society and to identify the processes that relate people to these settings. The dissertation will be divided into three parts and each one will develop independently an aspect of the topic under analysis, even though they are all in relation one with the other, as a theoretical evolution of the inspiring idea that I will attempt to demonstrate. First of all, I will consider the studies undertaken by sociologists and anthropologists who investigated the concept of space in what concerns its characteristics and its relation with society. I will take a general theoretical view of the studies about the different interpretations in the definition of space, and then I will focus specifically on these theories in relation with public space and with the correspondent social context. In fact, one assumption underlying this study is that public places reflect the dynamics that constitute society, so that their fundamental characteristics change with the evolution of society. The social context under consideration is the contemporary one, which with its specificities, led to a redefinition of the concept of public places and to the production of new ones. The transformation in the habits and in the paradigms of reference of contemporary society have produced a major change in the role and in the perception of public space. The use of sociological and anthropological analysis will contribute to define the historical framework and to outline the determining elements that produced these mutations in the structure of contemporary society. The implications of globalization and the shift in the notions of space and time will be two relevant aspects to be considered and investigated