Place Through Communication

In this weeks reading Tuan states,“Speech is a component of the force that transforms nature into human place” (1991). Facebook is the perfect example of an online narrative and how this narrative of its users has made it a place through dialogue and language. People can create a timeline of their online presence and interactions with friends, an virtual identity. I have used an alias Jazmine Bee, so I can observe the workings of the March Against Monsanto (MAM) page and other public pages on Facebook. Being able to freely comment without the accountability of identity or my actual reality is empowering. With an alias I can be any persona I wish, but I have chosen to remain an observer. 

The lecture this week talks about the evolution of narrative through history. The rise of the online narrative or online network has sky rocketed in the last say, 15 years. To me it seems we are still in the “rise of the printed novel” stages of the 1700’s (Van Luyn, 2013). The online network and internet movement has made information more accessible to the masses, as novels did. In a previous lecture we discussed knowledge is power in Foucault's power nexus (Petray, 2013). Even though some users mindlessly over share, like what they had for lunch. Choosing to have no friends on Facebook as Jazmine Bee, has enabled me to focus on the workings of the MAM page. I'm empowered by the access to information on Facebook but not limited by affecting my physical community identity, the virtual world only knows the observant Jazmine Bee.

This week I observed a post on MAM about Terrance Ingram's bees. MAM claims neonicotinoids, like Monsanto's Roundup and genetically modified organisms are partially responsible for declining bee populations (Grossman, 2013). One of Terrance's queen bees became resistant to Roundup, these hives were taken without a warrant by the state. MAM  creates a places for users to be enlightened by the truth, through communication. Some tactics appealing to people's fear of the unknown or underlying agendas, but mainly it relates back to Foucault's power through knowledge (Petray, 2013). Language, speech and dialogue between users and administrators of MAM page creates a place of virtual reality through communication.

Reference List

Grossman, E (2013). Yale Environment 360. Retrieved from: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/declining_bee_populations_pose_a_threat_to_global_agriculture/2645/

Petray, T. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, 
Lecture   2: Power: Big Brother and Surveillance. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the making of place: A narrative descriptive approach. In Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-694. Retrieved from: http://www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

 Van Luyn, A. (2013): BA1002 Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Week 5 notes [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from: http://www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Image and Video

Eco Watch (2013). EU Flags Another Bee-Killing Pesticide While EPA Drags Feet 

Retrieved From: http://ecowatch.com/2013/eu-flags-bee-killing-pesticide-epa-drags-feet/