My Place in the Sun

Abstract

This chapter explores situations in which “place” is the site of contestation, and where history plays a central role in that contestation. It highlights and considers the connection between the existential sense of right attached to one's bodily existence, the values associated with dwelling and home, and the political and ecological consequences of the ways in which the scope of this sense of right is interpreted. Place and its history and promise are central to these issues. Here then is the argument: People take for granted as the ground of every other right and privilege their individual right to exist, to have their “place in the sun.” This is rarely contested, and it is undoubtedly defensible. The image of “my place in the sun” makes it clear that one is not talking about a privileged spot on a private beach but a place on earth that does not deprive others of what is theirs. The chapter then looks at the historical constitution of place.