Constructing “Empty” Places: Discourses and Place Materiality in the Wake of Disruption

• Published in: Space and culture 2022-02, Vol.25 (1), p.52-64
• Main Authors: Therkelsen, Anette, Jensen, Ole B., Lange, Ida Sofie Götzsche
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Mass media images
• ISSN: 1206-3312; 1552-8308
• DOI: 10.1177/1206331219877623

Places are often thought of as “scenes” upon which social life takes place. Such a static place-conception lends itself to a particular instrumental and simplistic way of thinking about places. Instead, this paper seeks to illustrate that places are complex and relationally defined by multiple actors, human as well as non-human. The burning down of the Danish seaside hotel Svinkløv Badehotel is used as a lens through which such place complexity is understood. The paper presents a theoretical scaffolding for understanding how Svinkløv Badehotel became articulated as an authentic place in the wake of the dramatic event. Through a combined analysis of place materiality and public media representation, an account is given of how a disruptive event can work as a productive lens for understanding places and thus illustrate the analytical point of the paper: that places are never “empty,” but are configured by multiple human as well as non-human actors.