Abstract
THE EXPERIENCE OF PLACE AND NON-PLACE
WITHIN THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO PILGRIMAGE
Morgan
Crowley
|
Advisor: Nathan Perkins
|
University
of Guelph, 2012
|
Committee Member: Al Lauzon
|
The Camino Francés,
a 780km pilgrimage in Northern Spain, has been traveled by millions of pilgrims
over the last 800 years. In recent decades the route has been increasingly
threatened by insensitive development and infrastructure. Surprisingly little
research has been conducted on the nature and ecology of pilgrims’ experiences
and the landscape necessary to support the roughly 170,000 people that walk the
Camino each year. Adapting methods from recreation and leisure science, this
autoethnographic research explored the influence of the environment on my
pilgrimage experience as I walked for five weeks in the Fall of 2011. Analysis
used a variety of qualitative techniques in creating my own narrative. My
research suggests that the landscape is essential to a positive and meaningful
pilgrimage experience. Future planning and design efforts for this UNESCO route
should incorporate the influence of the landscape on the experience of
pilgrimage.
PDF Available: http://atrium.lib.uoguelph.ca/xmlui/handle/10214/3589
