What's The Point?: The Meaning of Place, Memory, and Community in Point Saint Charles, Quebec

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
What's The Point?: The Meaning of Place, Memory, and Community in Point Saint Charles, Quebec
Abstract
In Point Saint Charles (The Point), a once predominately English-speaking working class community in the south west part of Montreal, concepts of place, memory, class, and community cannot be understood in isolation. The author points out that as the area undergoes socio-economic changes, the struggle over what The Point is, how it got there, and who belongs within it, is contested. She argues that the public history of industrialization and industrial decline contributes to a homogenous memory of class that is threatened by gentrification. This reinforces a defensive stance compounded by negative experiences of "urban renewal". The author traces the shifting temporal and spatial understandings of place, exploring the fluid nature of The Point's symbolic and physical boundaries - how they came to be and how they inform public history, place attachment, and the use of community. She argues that these meanings are contributing to the creation of a "community of memory" negotiated predominantly through social media sites. "Pointers" are smoothing out conflicting memories, and silencing dissent within the group, while asserting difference from "others".
Type
Master's Thesis
University
Concordia University
Place
Montreal
Date
2011
# of Pages
ix-103p.
Language
en
URL
Citation
Mills, Jessica J. “What’s The Point?: The Meaning of Place, Memory, and Community in Point Saint Charles, Quebec.” Master’s Thesis, Concordia University, 2011. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/thesescanada/vol2/QMG/TC-QMG-7282.pdf.
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