SENSE OF PLACE, SENSE OF SELF A dissertation presented to the Faculty of Saybrook University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Organizational Systems by Allison Stern Oakland, California July 2017 © 2017 by Allison Stern Approval of the Dissertation SENSE OF PLACE, SENSE OF SELF This dissertation by Allison Stern has been approved by the committee members below, who recommend it be accepted by the faculty of Saybrook University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Systems Dissertation Committee: Kathia Laszlo, Ph.D., Chair Date Gary Metcalf, Ph.D. Date Alan Briskin, Ph.D. Date ii Abstract SENSE OF PLACE, SENSE OF SELF Allison Stern Saybrook University The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate how powerful experiences of place shape one’s sense of self. The human–place relationship is germane to today’s rapidly changing global landscape of political instability, conflict, climate change, population growth, and lack of opportunity, all of which are increasing human displacement, migration, and mobility. Further exploration of place identity is thus relevant to addressing these issues. This interdisciplinary study examined the literature in sense of place, sense of self, place identity, and transformative experiences. The research question was: How do powerful experiences of place form, inform, and transform one’s sense of self? This qualitative study used Finlay and Evans’s (2009) phenomenological Relational Approach. The data sources were in-depth interviews with 8 participants, selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Interview were conducted in 2 parts. The first part uncovered participants’ essential descriptions and meanings of powerfully transformative experiences of place. 6 themes emerged: (a) natural elements and geography, (b) community, roots, and belonging, (c) aliveness, wholeness, and the cycle of life, (d) freedom, adventure, and escape, (e) iii possibility, becoming, liminality, and the unknown, and (f) enchantment, the sacred, and coherence. Data from the second part were categorized by how experiences formed, informed, or transformed participants’ sense of self and life path. 5 dimensions of experiences were also noted: peak, plateau, nadir, epiphany, and liminal states. Further analysis revealed 4 larger patterns. The first pattern was an opposing tension of forces between participants’ sense of self- continuity and change, based on 3 meta themes of The Known, The Unknown, and The Balancing Present. The second pattern related to participants’ seeking similar place experiences. The third pattern noted variations in dimensions of experiences across the lifespan. The fourth pattern pointed to participants’ felt-sense of coherence and spirituality. This study contributes to a greater understanding of how powerful experiences of place form, inform, and transform individuals’ relationships with themselves, others, and the larger world. Implications indicate a need for the cultivation of greater awareness of the people–place relationship toward a more coherent partnership. Further research into co-affecting factors influencing place identity formation and development is needed. iv Acknowledgments This dissertation was fueled by an inspiring legacy of previous research, enthusiastic study participants, and support and encouragement from faculty, colleagues, friends, and family. I am grateful to: My generous participants, who shared their powerful experiences of place and in so doing, reminded me that my topic is vitally important and personally meaningful. Thank you each for your interest, wisdom, and scholarship. My committee members, Drs. Kathia Laszlo, Gary Metcalf, and Alan Briskin. Each provided a unique perspective that contributed to improving my thinking and this dissertation. Thank you to Dr. Kathia Laszlo for being an inspiration since the very start of this journey, and for encouraging me to follow my own path. To Dr. Gary Metcalf, thank you for your reliability, availability, and your clarity of thought, especially toward the end, when I really needed feedback. To Dr. Alan Briskin, thank you for your passionate appreciation of the power of sacred places and spaces. Thank you also for challenging me and supporting me at several critical junctures in this process, enabling my deeper thinking and scholarship. My friend and editor, Monika Landenhamer, who from my first library research class to this final editing, has been a critically supportive cheerleader. Thank you Monika for your patience, keen listening, and perfectionistic tendencies. My Wednesday Group, Jim Best, Natasha Mantler, Dolores Opon, and Eric Reynolds, for your ongoing support and our collaborative “Keep Going” spirit, and my Tuesday Group, Jim Best and Lisa Fisher, for your deep listening and affirming friendship. My friend, Jo Sundet, for your authenticity, cleverness, and big heart, which have kept me going, in good times and bad, through our learning adventures. My friend, Debra Rosenbaum, for your lifelong friendship and our shared passions of design, architecture, place, and space. My friend, Santina Hovanessian, for inviting me to co-create and continue learning, together. My friend, Lynn Harrison, for paving the way, modeling active listening, kindness, and grit. My friends and colleagues, old and new, for their friendship, support, and sisterhood, including: Katherine Melchior Ray, Maria Cristini, Lisa Clark, Catherine Edelmann, Joyce Goodwin, Allison Post, Sina Hanson, Susie Kabeiseman, Victoria Rubenstein-Schwartz, Shekinah Shephard, Deena Kolbert, Noffi Yelloz, Konstantina Katsanou, and Kim Brice. My parents, Carol and Earl Stern, for their encouragement and long-term commitment to each other and my education. My husband and life-journeyer, Greg Lindae, whose sense of humor, irreverence, commitment, and encouragement have accompanied me all along. He and the mighty Duke have been my steady and patient reminders that I could, and would, complete this work. v Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. xi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Place Identity in Context ................................................................................................................. 2 Research Question .......................................................................................................................... 7 Researcher’s Relationship to the Topic .......................................................................................... 8 Definitions of Key Terminology ..................................................................................................... 9 Organization of the Dissertation ................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ....................................................................... 16 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 16 Place .............................................................................................................................................. 17 Facets of Place ........................................................................................................................ 19 Sense of Place and Placelessness ............................................................................................ 21 Place Attachment .................................................................................................................... 25 Phenomenology of Place......................................................................................................... 29 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 35 Sense of Self ................................................................................................................................. 36 Concept and Definition of Self ............................................................................................... 36 Self-Concept ........................................................................................................................... 41 Identity Theories ..................................................................................................................... 43 vi Social Identity Theory....................................................................................................... 45 Identity Theory.................................................................................................................. 46 Identity Process Theory .................................................................................................... 48 Place Identity ...................................................................................................................