Luttje, Savannah (2025) Stories, Nature and Silence: Exploring Cultural Heritage and Sense of Place in Oldambt. Master thesis, Cultural Geography - Sustainable Tourism and Society (STS).
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Abstract
This thesis explores how long-term residents of Oldambt, a rural municipality in the northern Netherlands, perceive cultural heritage in relation to their sense of place. Rural community contexts like Oldambt face demographic shifts and experience socio-economic problems, therefore, understanding how residents engage with heritage can illustrate how place identity and belonging are maintained or challenged in these contexts. Using a qualitative approach, the research combined photovoice with semi-structured interviews, in cooperation with nine long term residents in the region. Participants submitted photographs representing meaningful connections to their living area and discussed the importance of these cultural heritage elements in the individual interviews. Thematic analysis was employed to explore how cultural heritage influences place identity, place attachment and place dependence, which are key aspects of the sense of place concept. Findings show that both tangible and intangible elements contribute strongly to the participant’s emotional and cognitive connection to place. Surprising findings include the importance of different senses in experiencing heritage and the emotional value of informal and everyday heritage, created by a sense of nostalgia and memories.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Name supervisor: | Rosenbergova, S. |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Aug 2025 08:15 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Aug 2025 08:15 |
| URI: | https://campus-fryslan.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/758 |
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