Reading Response: Michel de Certeau

The part that interested me the most is his comparison between “tours” and “maps”, where he quoted an analysis done my C Linde and W. Labov, comparing the descriptions that New York residents gave their own apartments. They recognized two distinct types, which are “tours” and “maps”, which to me, these two words echo the difference between a third-person versus a first-person narrative, in other words, a perspective from a higher versus a more direct angle. His analysis gives me a new way of perceiving space, especially when studying in a major that emphasises on the design of our built environment, it is crucial in how we interact with the spaces around us, and how to understand the information that spaces are giving us. In movie-making, how a camera perceives and portrays spaces, determines the emotion of audiences, as well as how the audiences understand the depictions.

Wong Ho Wang Caleb

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1 thought on “Reading Response: Michel de Certeau

  1. Noella Kwok says:

    Good effort in translating the “tours” and “maps” into different types of narratives. Along your line of thought, “tours” is the relationship between “places” and “maps” demonstrates the relationship between the human body / movement and “places”. It would be great if you can extend a bit more into the mediums used for architecture and movie-making – the different types of drawings used such as perspectives, plans, maps etc.; the framing angles like close-ups, wide-angles, aerials etc. You may also wish to explore Le Corbusier’s concept of promenade architecturale (architectural promenade) – the observer’s pathway within an architecture – depicted in works like Villa la Roche and Villa Savoye.

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