Mental maps as representations of local cultural areas
Abstract
Immeasurable symbolic values of a local space constitute the basis and motive for designing mental maps. Mental maps consist of universal elements (e.g. communication paths, area borders) and particular geographical categories (e.g. world directions, known and characteristic towns). The latter are the centre of connotations, and the source of metaphors for characterising local cultural areas at the level of mental maps. The analysis of Bielsko-Biała reveals representations of this town as Manchester, Vienna, and Berlin, as well as the representations of the fragments of spaces of other town such as Paris and New York. In each scale and in each case, mental maps reflect the socio-cultural characteristic of the local space.
Keywords
symbolic values; mental maps; space valorization
Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach Instytut Etnologii i Antropologii Kulturowej Poland
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