Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Political geography has moved from geopolitics and the idea of
centres of global power to studies of identities, empowerment,
resistance, mobilities, and differences, and the ways in which
these are played out in geographical space.
Urban geography has in some ways mirrored trends elsewhere
and has been strongly infl uenced by, for example, humanistic
geography that brought in studies of themes such as graffi ti as a
territorial marker and cultural geography with its interest in the
affective values and emotions attached to city neighbourhoods.
Broader trends such as the growth of gender and sexuality
issues in geography have prompted studies of the ways in which
different groups occupy urban space. On the conceptual front, the
studies of cities and urban life have attracted the application of
postmodern ideas, post-structural theory, and critical discourse
analysis.
How do we move from the confl icting positions that often emerge
to some kind of convergence? A perceptive and compromising
comment from a British geographer is helpful:
Although this topic is titled Social Geographies it makes no claims
to occupy a discrete intellectual space, which can be identifi ed
or sealed off from other traditional sub-disciplinary areas such
as cultural geography or political geography. Rather the plural
social geographies, which emerge here, are a porous product - an
expression of the many connections and inter-relationships that
exist between different fi elds of geographical inquiry.
G. Valentine,
Social Geographies: Space and Society
(2001)
The sentiment is one of 'openings'; a desire to defi ne and defend
a particular style of approach and theme, but also a willingness
to recognize and learn from other approaches. It also serves as
a statement on the current 'state of play' and offers a good basis
from which human geography can progress.
