Etymology of "sense" and "place"

 

Sense:

c.1400, "faculty of perception," also "meaning or interpretation" (esp. of Holy Scripture), from O.Fr. sens,  from L. sensus  "perception, feeling, undertaking, meaning," from sentire  "perceive, feel, know," prob. a fig. use of a lit. meaning "to find one's way," from PIE base *sent-  "to go" (cf. O.H.G. sinnan  "to go, travel, strive after, have in mind, perceive," Ger. Sinn  "sense, mind," O.E. sið  "way, journey," O.Ir. set,  Welsh hynt  "way"). Application to any one of the external  or outward senses  (touch, sight, hearing, etc.) first recorded 1526. 

Place

O.E. "open space in a city, market place, square," from O.Fr. place , from M.L. placea  "place, spot," from L. platea  "courtyard, open space, broad street," from Gk. plateia (hodos)  "broad (way)," fem. of platys  "broad," from PIE *plat-  "to spread" (cf. Skt. prathati  "spreads out;" Hitt. palhi  "broad;" Lith. platus  "broad;" Ger. Fladen  "flat cake;" O.Ir. lethan  "broad"); extended variant form of base *pele-  (see plane (1)). Replaced O.E. stow  and stede . Wide application in English, covering meanings that in French require three words: place, lieu,  and endroit . Cognate It. piazza  and Sp. plaza  retain more of the etymological sense. Broad sense of "material space, dimension of defined or indefinite extent" is frommid-13c. Sense of "position on some social scale" is from early 14c. Meaning "group of houses in a town" is from 1580s. Place-kick  is from 1845, originally in rugby. Placement  is first attested 1844. All over the place  "in disorder" is attested from 1923.

The fragments in bold are the ones that are most interesting to me. 

What is a sense of place?

A sense of place is a mental and/or physical occurrence.

What does it mean to be a person in a place? 

To be a person in a place is to have a mental perception of what is around us in the physical world and where said person may fit into it. 

How do people shape places, and how are they shaped by them? 

People shape places just by being within them, via the dust we contribute, the oxygen we consume and the carbon dioxide we expel. 

Can places be in our minds as well as etched in the physical landscape?
Definitely, this reminds me of a saying in Paradise Lost that goes something like "The mind can make a heaven of hell and a hell of heaven." Our mind is not just a conduit we use to interact with the outside world, it can suffice as a world standalone.


Statement:

Sense of place will be portrayed in my film in a way that questions our memory and perception. It will do this thematically by employing the idea of paranoia, and forgetfulness. Can we always trust our senses? Can those senses trick our instincts? Just because we can  perceive something as reality does that make it so? My film is interpreting the hypothetical situation that it does not, and that what our sense of place sees as reality is actually faulty. Here is a rundown of the film:

Woman emerges into kitchen.
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Woman walks to pantry and get coffee (Close-up of coffee inside canteen ( or slightly above))
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A shot of the window (it appears to be morning)
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A cup of coffee is set on the table
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Woman takes coffee
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Woman sips coffee and looks out window
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Woman sets coffee down and walks over to sink
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Woman starts doing dishes. Woman sips coffee.
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Woman realizes the coffee has somehow changed places from the left counter to next to the sink.
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Woman suddenly hears people talking. Woman runs around the house looking for someone. There is no one. Woman returns to kitchen
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Women emerge into kitchen from all entrances and they all walk out of frame through said entrances. Leaving woman in kitchen.
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Woman is shocked. Woman puts face over hand. Woman removes hand from face.
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Steaming hot coffee is waiting on the counter
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Woman takes coffee and pours it all on the floor.
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Woman runs to the bathroom.
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Woman sees coffee waiting for her in bathroom.
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END

 

Digital Cinema - Sense of Place from Kaitlyn Chandler on Vimeo.