Meaning of ‘Home’ and Identity Explored in New Book by Lakehead Professor

(Thunder Bay - September 19, 2006) A Lakehead University Outdoor Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Professor has co-edited and published a book entitled "Multiple Dwelling and Tourism: Negotiating Place, Home and Identity."

Dr. Norman McIntyre conceived the idea for this book out of his Social Science and Humanities Research Council and Northern Studies-funded workshop held on campus in the spring of 2002.

The book represents the culmination of extended research cooperation among a team of international scholars from a wide variety of research areas including: geography, leisure, tourism, natural resource management, psychology, and sociology. Comprised of a collection of specially written contributions by 25 authors from Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland, Australia and New Zealand, it explores multiple dwelling (camps, cottages, cabins, RVs) as a societal response to the major influences of increased mobility and amenity tourism. The contributions analyse from a variety of perspectives and in differing contexts the modern-day meaning of multiple dwelling and how it affects personal identity; the meanings of 'home' and perceptions of place, and their impacts on host communities and landscapes.

"I have been interested in this area for many years because I was intrigued as to why people go to all the expense, commitment, and travel to own a second home in nature, and what purpose such homes have in people's lives," Dr. McIntyre says.

Dr. McIntyre, who has his own winterised camp at Chippewa, says that multiple dwelling and the reasons behind them can tell much about the way modern people are seeking contact with nature and are dealing with the increased stress of modern life.

"Multiple dwellings are shaping people's identity both culturally and personally, and are re-shaping the idea of what 'home' is," he adds. "In essence, studies of second homes and other forms of multiple dwelling are helping us better understand the coping strategies that people are using to deal with modern life."