History Forgotten and Renamed

 Jesse Ernst

2/9/21

GEOG 101

History Forgotten and Renamed

Paul Carter in “Naming Place” describes how a space becomes a place by the association in thought to another place; however, sometimes a personal association to a particular name may leave the space undefined and thought of perhaps as ugly or undesirable.  Carter states that distinct ideas exist as they are related, “all kinds of reasoning consist in nothing but a comparison, and a discovery of those relations, either constant or inconstant, which two or more objects bear to each other” (p. 403).  A simple example of this: How do I know the wall in my kitchen is light green?  I only know this by association with another similar object that is like in color. Thus after reflecting on previous knowledge or past experiences of what the true color of green is, or what I believe it is, I name the wall light green.

Beauty or poetry is truly in the eye of the beholder.  Field’s writing was “highly critical of Australian place names, which, he, presumes, attempt to apply the principles of association.” (p. 403).  He seemed to insult Australia's unique beauty and misunderstand names given to places.  He missed the fact that “it was the names themselves that brought history into being, that invented the spatial and conceptual coordinates within which history could occur” (p. 404-405).  How else could people agree on fixed points of space without these names?    

Carter, in "Spatial History", addresses how history changes the names of specific places and often the identity/associations of the place.  “This kind of history, which reduces space to a stage, that pays attention to events unfolding in time alone, might be called imperial history” (p. 375); each generation of explorers lays claim as if they were the first to name the place.  Throughout time, many have claimed original names as if they trump all other names. These names, whether symbolic or established,  are “rewritten and repeated” again and again through history.  A friend of mine from a village near Bethel gave me a story book from elders who wrote down some of their history.  When I examined the book, I found names of places I didn't know and wondered what area of Alaska this book talked about.  My friend then pointed out to me the lakes named in the book and the nearby villages, names that were different from what they are now.  Some of the names were only spelled differently he explained and made simpler so English speakers could tell how it was said; others were older names based on incidents that had occurred in the past.  The geography was almost entirely forgotten.   This reminds me of Carter’s statement that names are used because of “the desire to differentiate, the necessity of naming in order to travel” (Naming Place, p. 406).  The locations are no longer used for local travel, so the names have been forgotten by many.