about this webtext
Similar to the topics of hyperlocalism and identity, this webtext is multi-layered. The project itself seems to have many origins and threads. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when I began researching “place”; it seems I have been dealing with place and identity for much of my life, as you will see by reading the narrative pieces below.
I can, however, trace the threads of this project, like much of my research, to my interest in blogging both personally and as a researcher. My interest initially emerged from my desire to connect with friends and family in Alabama when I moved to Illinois for graduate school. Blogging, for me, was a way to tell stories. Researching blogging was a way for me to understand and bring attention to the importance of such stories.
I am interested in how people tell stories about who they are and where they have been. I am intrigued by the part that geography, that spaces, places and locations play into our individual and collective identities. As I mention in various sections of this webtext, my research began as a quest to understand these relationships better, particularly as the notions of place began evolving as “place” moved into the nowhere/everywhere space of the Internet in/on/through social media sites.
The design of this webtext has evolved throughout the life of this project. I wanted a design that resembled a blog because much of the hyperlocal content on the web today is on blogs or blog-like designed websites, like this one. Like many hyperlocal sites, there are many ways to navigate the webtext. You can follow the suggested topic order, browse by categories, or read chronologically using the next/previous links on individual posts.
July