Field, Habitus and Imago Regionis: An Alternative Approach to the Study of Region Cover Image

Pole, habitus i imago regionis: propozycja alternatywnego podejścia do analizy regionu
Field, Habitus and Imago Regionis: An Alternative Approach to the Study of Region

Author(s): Anna Gąsior-Niemiec
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: EUROREG - Uniwersytet Warszawski, Regional Studies Association - Sekcja Polska
Keywords: region; social field; regional identity

Summary/Abstract: Referring to the Polish regionalization from the perspective of European integration and globalization, the paper proposes a model of regional analysis based on theoretical conceptions of Pierre Bourdieu and Anssi Paasi. Region as a social field of new generation, regional habitus constructed within it and an imago regionis as a new type of regional identity are the key concepts of the proposed model. Multi-stage institutionalization of region, which results in an idiosyncratic regional identity, is the main process analysed by means of the model. The identity functions on the one hand at the level of territorial marketing, on the other it interacts with mental and behavioural patterns constitutive of regional habitus, conditioning adaptive and innovative potential of regional communities. The proposed approach enables to see region in the perspective of global change on the one hand, while on the other, it draws attention to possibilities of local modification of the conditions, within which it is implemented. While it sustains the weight of socio-cultural factors in regional analyses, at the same time it makes it possible to reach beyond narrowly conceived perspective of cultural identity, dominant in sociologically minded studies of regions.

  • Issue Year: 5/2004
  • Issue No: 18
  • Page Range: 13-36
  • Page Count: 24
  • Language: Polish