Places of power

Naming of affective places

Abstract

By analysing Finnish data drawn from 106 written responses to a questionnaire, we have studied the ways people name their places of power and the ways affective meanings are present in their descriptions. Places of power renew, calm, invigorate and help in distress. They allow the respondents to be alone and listen to their own thoughts, or they make them feel at one with nature. Four main strategies are used to identify these places of power: official place names, relational place descriptions, unofficial place names and classifying expressions. In the process of placemaking, three kinds of agency stand out: the agency of the materiality of the place, that of emotions and affective practices, and that of the person experiencing the place. Identifying the place by naming it is part of this process.