Non-Place

Termed by French anthropologist Marc Auge, non-place refers to “a space which cannot be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with identity will be a non-place” (78). These spaces often link individuals to sites of transit such as metro stations and airports. Other “non-places” may be spaces like shopping malls and sites of commerce or leisure. One of the key differences that separates “place” from “non-place” is that “the first is never completely erased, the second never totally completed,” and Auge continues on to make the claim that non-places acts as a measure of our time as they are produced through supermodernity (79).

Source: Marc Auge. 1995. Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity. London: Verso.

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