Main entry:

Low, Setha M., author.

Title & Author:

On the plaza : the politics of public space and culture / by Setha M. Low.

Edition:

First edition.

Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, [2000]
©2000

Description:

xx, 274 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-266) and index.
pt. I. Introduction. Ch. 1. Notes from the Field: A Personal Account -- Ch. 2. Public Space and Culture: The Case of the Latin American Plaza -- pt. II. Histories. Ch. 3. The History of the Plaza in San José, Costa Rica: The Political Symbolism of Public Space -- Ch. 4. The European History of the Plaza: Power Relations and Architectural Interpretation -- Ch. 5. The Indigenous History of the Plaza: The Contested Terrain of Architectural Representations -- pt. III. Ethnographies. Ch. 6. Spatializing Culture: The Social Production and Social Construction of Public Space -- Ch. 7. Constructing Difference: The Social and Spatial Boundaries of Everyday Life -- Ch. 8. Public Space and Protest: The Plaza as Art and Commodity -- pt. IV. Conversations. Ch. 9. The Park and the Plaza in Costa Rican Literature: Imagined Places -- Ch. 10. Conversations on the Plaza: Remembered Places -- Ch. 11. Public Space, Politics, and Democracy -- Appendix: Recent Costa Rican Presidents and Their Terms.

Summary:

"Friendly gossip, political rallies, outdoor concerts, drugs, shoeshines, and sex-for-sale--almost every aspect of Latin American life has its place and time in the public plaza. In this wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary study, Setha M. Low explores the interplay of space and culture in the plaza, showing how culture acts to shape public spaces and how the physical form of the plaza encodes the social, political, and economic relations within the city. Low centers her study on two plazas in San Jose, Costa Rica, with comparisons to public spaces in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. She interweaves ethnography, history, literature, and personal narrative to capture the ambiance and meaning of the plaza. She also uncovers the contradictory ethnohistories of the European and indigenous origins of the Latin American plaza and explains why the plaza is often a politically contested space."--Publisher's description.

Resources:
Table of contents
Publisher description

ISBN:

0292747144 (pbk. ; alk. paper)
9780292747142 (pbk. ; alk. paper)
0292747136 (alk. paper)
9780292747135 (alk. paper)

Subject:

Lateinamerika
Plazas Latin America History.
Plazas Costa Rica San José History.
Places Amérique latine Histoire.
Places Cost Rica San Jose.
Places Costa Rica San José Histoire.
71.55 folklore: general.
Civilization
Manners and customs
Plazas
Platz
Gesellschaftsleben
Kultur
Öffentlicher Raum
Pleinen.
Openbare ruimte.
Sociale ontwikkeling.
Stadscultuur.
Antropologia urbana.
Antropologia política.
Plazas Costa Rica San Jose History.
Urban anthropology.
Latin America Civilization.
Latin America Social life and customs.
San José (Costa Rica) Civilization.
San José (Costa Rica) Social life and customs.
Amérique latine Civilisation.
Amérique latine Mœurs et coutumes.
San José (Costa Rica) Civilisation
San José (Costa Rica) Moeurs et coutumes
Costa Rica San José
Latin America
San José
AmÉrica Latina (CivilizaÇÃo)
open ruimten
open spaces
stedelijke planning
urban planning
ontwerp
design
volkscultuur
folk culture
culturele waarden
cultural values
vrije tijd
leisure
latin america
geschiedenis
history
Cultural Anthropology (General)
Culturele antropologie (algemeen)

Form/genre:

History

Holdings:

Location: Library main 231115
Call No.: F1410 .L6 2000
Status: Available