ABSTRACT
This chapter has begun to explore the importance of representation in everyday life. The chapter argues that representation is central to the ways in which societies function, and can be linked to people's ways of making sense of the world. Representation relies on languages and systems of meaning which are used for communicating experience and knowledge of the world between members of cultural communities and groups. Representation requires constant interaction between people, who are involved in representing the world to each other in a variety of ways for a wide range of reasons. Meaning is constantly created through processes of representation. It is possible to 'read' a whole range of representations such as novels, paintings, TV programmes and maps to explore what they can tell about the society or individual which produces and consumes them. Thinking about the operation of power relations is central to understanding representation is deeply involved with struggles to control people and places.
