Today was very interesting day. We finally got to discuss a little bit of Eastern Rising of 1916, and we even had a quick  review section of  “The Easter Rising: A Guide to Dublin in 1916″ By Conor Kostick and Lorgan Collins .I found the book  to be concise, and very well organized. The information found in this text was very helpful to understand the significance of the Easter Rising.  As a political science major, I was really excited to visit the places that held historical significance in the process of Independence of this nation such as: The General Post Office, Trinity College, City Hall,  and Dublin Castle. The experience was even better than what I have expected, thanks to our tour guide: Lorgan Collins.Yes! The author of the book! He is obviously very knowledgeable about the subject, and was able to provide very interesting details of this period of time.

Dublin Castle was in my opinion one of the most beautiful places we have visited so far. What impressed me the most about this place is the fact that it has been around since the medieval times. According to Dublin Castle’s website this place was built in 1204 and served until 1922 as the home of the English monarchs, and  Irish representatives. It was amazing to see how well conserved this place remains. I seem like it had have been froze on time. This reminded me of the concept introduced by Cresswell that explains that places hold significance not because of their location, but because of the memories that have been created in a that particular space. He invited us to think of memories as being  timeless and define not by space, but by history.

This morning in class, we study the concept of  “Place” ,  and how this is defined and/or constructed by different  entities.  While visiting the Natural History Museum of Ireland, I couldn’t help to think about what we learned in class. This made my experience even more significant.  In his texted, Cresswell mentioned a scholar (lukermann) who believed that place was integration of nature and culture at an specific location (Cresswell,33). The Natural history museum  happens to be exactly that. We had the opportunity to contemplate a very large zoological collection, and to learned a little more the habitat of these species as well as their role , and interaction  with humans among the years. The Natural History Museum lives up to the definition that Cresswell provides in his text, for it is a place that reflects the understanding of the world in the eyes of humanity. The clearest example of this is the exhibition of the Great Irish dear , which is appears in the photograph below.

The Great Irish Dear  is an animal that lived around 12, 000 years ago, during the last years of Ice Age. Thanks to what society has accomplished, scientist have been able to draw conclusions based on the general understanding of the world to explain this animal’s diet, behavior,habitat , origin, interactions with other species, as well as possible causes of extinction. In addition, this piece in the Natural History Museum served to prove that time can become space, and space a place. When observing this piece many images came into my mind. For a moment I could see this beautiful creature wondering around the ice sheets.  In that sense I was able to identify with the phenomenology approach : I was able to create a place beyond my physical location.