This thesis aims to discover, understand and appreciate the history of New Port Richey. New Port Richey's growth was affected by many of the same social changes taking place all over Florida, most notably the coming of the railroad, the popularity of the automobile, and the land boom of the 1920s. Post-World War II prosperity, pest control, air conditioning, and interstate highways attracted people to this city nicknamed the "Gateway to Tropical Florida." Unique to this area was the Legend of Chasco, an invented tradition to draw tourists and new residents to the area, and the beautiful Pithlachascotee River meandering through the heart of town as it makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico. New Port Richey hoped to become the "Hollywood of the South." What remains distinctive about New Port Richey today? What are its special features and characteristics that separate it from hundreds of other locales in the Tampa Bay metropolis? My methodology is simple; I will analyze and evaluate information gathered from available primary and secondary sources: Interviews, observations, newspapers, books, articles and government documents. Chapter one analyzes the invented tradition of Chasco, which is a part of the history and heritage of this community. New Port Richey wished to cash in on the land boom of the 1920s. Having little history of its own, the invented tradition of Chasco was born, first celebrated in 1922; it is still celebrated today. Chapters two and three chronicle the history, as well as the tales of New Port Richey, from its first inhabitants and pioneer settlers to present-day New Port Richey. Chapter four introduces the land known as the Starkey Wilderness Park and Preserve, a supplier of West Pasco's freshwater supply, which lies just east of the city. Starkey donated several thousand acres to the Southwest Florida Water Management District for his dream of permanently protecting the land and its resources for future generations. Uncontrolled growth and development has eliminated evidence of New Port Richey being the "Gateway to Tropical Florida." Land and water conservation needs to be a top priority. New Port Richey, no longer has that "special something."

What happens to man’s place when non-human nature – man’s environment – is under threat? Norwegian author Maja Lunde explores this in the four novels that make up the “climate quartet,” Bienes historie (2015), Blå (2017), Przewalskis hest (2019) and Drømmen om et tre (2022), in which she discusses various climate issues. This master’s thesis investigates how Lunde establishes the significance of place and the meaning of nature as a place in her climate quartet, with an emphasis on the dystopian portrayal of place and the relationship between the human and the non-human. The analysis employs a thematic close reading approach, using ecocriticism as a general theoretical framework. In particular, the works of scholars Ursula K. Heise, Doreen Massey, and Antonia Mehnert on the meaning of place contribute to this study’s analytical framework, which includes concepts such as sense of place, de- and reterritorialization, riskscape, non-places, the global and the local. The study also draws on Sigmund Freud’s and Martin Heidegger’s concepts of the Uncanny. The thesis shows that in Lunde’s climate fiction, place is a prominent actor because it threatens the characters' existence and can be perceived as a catalyst for the stories’ events. The characters’ identity as nomads who traverse the world as a global riskscape is a key theme. The fictional world is characterized by emptiness, which can be perceived as a result of deterritorialization. The emptiness in some places leads to the concept of the Uncanny in both the dystopian future perspective, where the climate-changed world is depicted as an uncanny place, and in the past and present perspectives, where nature is often depicted as an uncanny quasi-object. The characters’ awareness of nature as an ambivalence is particularly significant. The analysis of Lunde’s use of place and the meaning of nature as a place provides a nuanced exploration of the complex relationship between humans and their environment.

In this mixed-methods community-based participatory research project I examine the ways in which sense of place (or lack thereof) is developed for Native Americans living in the urban Boston area, and the implications this has for physical health and social well-being. Through in-depth interviews, ethnographic data, and community photo-voice, I argue that a triad of Place, Stress, and Identity configure and act upon the bodies of urban Natives in complex ways, creating a paradoxical sense of place in the city. Each analytical chapter examines particular interactions of this triad: place as a physical and socially-experienced phenomenon, the interactions of place and stress, the process of "place-making", and social stress surrounding “urban Native” identity. Developing a framework of “place/body multiple” (Eyles and Williams 2007, Scheper-Hughes and Lock 1987; see background chapter), these chapters build toward the argument that, in contrast to “sense of place” literature that focuses on reservations (see Background Chapter), urban “sense of place” operates within what I term a “landscape of distress.” Forming an urban “sense of place” is beneficial to overall well-being because it leads to support networks and creates a proxy for “home”, building on current literature on social support and anthropological literature on Indigenous place-making. However, it is also detrimental to health because it creates an identity that is inherently separate from tribe and traditional land, creating both social and physiological distress.

The purpose of this study was to discover the various meanings that the Pulaski Theatre held for the residents of Pulaski and the theatre's social importance to the town. The following research objectives directed this study: 1) to document the theatre's history from the time it was built in 1911 until the present day, 2) to uncover memories or feelings associated with the theatre, and 3) to determine if design features of the theatre building influenced those feelings/memories. In documenting the history of the theatre, design features of the original 1911 building were examined as well as changes over time. To determine if design features of the building influenced the feelings/memories that were associated with the structure it was important first to discover which architectural and design features people remembered, if any, and then to determine if these design features reflected a meaningful association, i.e. sense of place to participants. Also of interest was whether this association or sense of place would be similar or different for all. Participants were fifteen males and females aged 43 to 82 who had attended the theatre over time. All participants grew up in Pulaski and six had lived there their entire lives. Both African Americans and Caucasians participated. Subjects were asked to draw a picture of the theatre that expressed their experience of the space. After the drawing, they were asked to discuss the picture and its meaning to them. Clare Cooper Marcus and others used this environmental autobiography technique as a method to bring a person's experiences of a place to a conscious level. Tape-recorded interviews were conducted and transcribed by the researcher to discover memories of the theatre and the meaning of the theatre to the participants. Data were analyzed by coding to look for emerging themes or categories that relate to the research question. Of interest was whether or not the Pulaski Theatre represented a sense of place to residents and if that sense of place varied for different participants. Document research was conducted through old newspapers and artifacts in the Raymond Ratcliffe Museum (the historic museum in Pulaski), documents from scrapbooks, architectural plans, and the files of the Town of Pulaski. Themes that were identified from the research were (1) the structure was an integral part of the community, (2) the theatre was a reflection of the community's social norms and roles, such as segregation, and (3) the theatre interior contributed to the social atmosphere of the space. The theatre building, while transformed over time, retained a presence in the town and memories associated with it across time were significant in creating a sense of place in the community. The theatre was remembered as a setting that brought excitement and stimulation to children and adults for many years. Participants felt "at home" in the theatre, having favored sections of the theatre where they routinely sat. School children attending the weekly matinees in the summer and African Americans sitting in their special section of the balcony developed a special identity with that particular space within the theatre. Even after segregation, many African Americans continued to sit in the balcony where they had sat for many years and felt at home. The unique characteristics of these spaces were dependent on the people that frequented them rather than the architecture of the building. The sense of place was one of personal relationships and emotional attachments rather than of bricks and mortar. Memories of the theatre were stories of groups or individuals and their interactions in the space. The building represented these individuals and what they brought to this place and time. The Pulaski Theatre played a great role in interactions with friends and neighbors and was significant in reflecting a sense of place in this community. / Ph. D.

This dissertation examines the ways in which abandoned and sparsely populated spaces can begin to offer up their hidden, alternative histories through the process of ethnographic inquiry. My research explains how it is possible to engage with peripheral and often marginalized North American cultures through the anthropological study of affect, space and materiality. Here, I have endeavoured to construct a rich narrative of space, place and human geography that sees the ghost towns of the North American prairies and the isolated fishing communities of Grand Bruit, Newfoundland and Matinicus, Maine as dynamic texts that can be read as both alternative historical inscriptions and as anthropological phenomena that describe a unique aspect of unseen culture. Far from being empty spaces, these locations present deeply engaging deposits of local history and alternate world views. However, if left undocumented, I believe that these spaces will soon be erased from the dominant narratives of culture and historicity, swept away by the winds of resource depletion and rural-to-urban migration. In what follows, I present an opportunity for the reader to join me in unpacking and analysing these rarely understood and oft-neglected histories that are intrinsic to contemporary North American culture and identity. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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