University of Tennessee College of Arts & Sciences’ Post

The following is an excerpt from a story titled "From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools" published for The Conversation U.S. and written by University of Tennessee Department of Geography & Sustainability PhD candidate Seth T. Kannarr, Chancellor's Professor Derek Alderman, Visiting Assistant Professor of Geography at Macalester College Jordan Brasher. "Renaming a place is always an act of power. People in power have long used place naming to claim control over the identity of the place, bolster their reputations, retaliate against opponents and achieve political goals. These moves can have strong psychological effects, particularly when the name evokes something threatening. Changing a place name can fundamentally shift how people view, relate to or feel that they belong within that place. Place names affect how people perceive, experience and emotionally connect to their surroundings in both conscious and subconscious ways. Psychologists, sociologists and geographers have explored how this sense of place manifests itself into the psyche, creating either attachment or aversion to place, whether it’s a school, mountain or park." #UTArtSci #EndlessOpportunities Photo Credit: Tim Rains/National Park Service, CC BY