The Representational Space of the Jiu Valley: Space Perceived Through Direct Experience

Abstract

Over the past twenty years, the increasing significance of virtual spaces created by the internet, GPS and multimedia communication networks has played a major role in the growing interest attributed to the study of space. The promises and the menaces of globalization, the political and economic events which have reshaped the world in the last decades are just a few examples of the re-spacing of the globe. Accordingly, in the humanities and social sciences in general, the questions of space and place have marked a shift to inquiries about location, political space and mobility. The approaches and concepts proposed by the prestigious theorists Henry Lefebvre, Bertrand Westphal and Yi-Fu Tuan serve as a methodological framework for this paper. This study is intended as a reflection on the interconnection between the space of the Jiu Valley and its representation, far from exhausting all the possibilities of research and debate. The reading of space is accomplished through the direct and sensorial perception of space, covering various manners in which a person constructs reality and allowing for an understanding of the Jiu Valley in critically imaginative ways. Interviews conducted in situ provide an authentic interpretation of space, describing how individuals interact with their environment. By offering an alternative perception of reality, we hope to accomplish a value judgement of the Jiu Valley’s unique setting and its animated community.