Key Thinkers on Space and Place

by Phil Hubbard (Editor), Rob Kitchin (Editor)

` It is a safe bet that Key Thinkers will emerge as something of a ′hit′ within the undergraduate community and will rise to prominance as a ′must buy′ - Environment and Planning `Key Thinkers on Space and Place is an engagingly written, well-researched and very accessible book. It will surely prove an invaluable tool for students, whom I would strongly encourage to purchase this edited collection as one of the best guides to recent geographical thought′ -Claudio Minca, University of Newcastle `Key Thinkers is the best encyclopedic tool for human geographers since the Dictionary of Human Geography . It takes into its orbit discussions of the lives and work of the last three decades′ major thinkers on space and place. It is hugely useful for students who want an easy way to access the roots of where some major themes and debates in contemporary geography. It is organized so that each chapter details the scholar′s biography, their contribution to spatial and place-based theory and the controversies that arise through their work′ - Stuart Aitken, San Diego State University Key Thinkers on Space and Place is a comprehensive guide to the latest work on space. Each entry is a short interpretative essay of 2,500 words, outlining the contributions made by the key theorists, and · a concise biography, indicating disciplinary background, career trajectory and collaboration with others · an outline of the key theoretical, conceptual and methodological ideas each has introduced to human geography · an explanation of the reaction to, and uptake of, how these ideas has changed and evolved over time · an explanation of how these theories have been used and critiqued by human geographers · a selective bibliography of each thinker′s key publications (and key secondary publications) The text is introduced by a contextual essay which outlines in general terms the shifting ways in which space and place have been theorised and which explains how Key Thinkers on Space and Place can be used. A glossary that defines key traditions, with cross-links to key theorists and a timeline of key article/book publication date is also included.

Genres: Geography, Philosophy

368 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2004

Reviews

[Arda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very helpful as it incorporated various insight on the subject.

[sdw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this as a useful reference guide to have on your shelf if you teach about Space and Place or if you research on Space and Place. I would assign it in a graduate course on Space and Place and would consider it for an undergraduate course.

It has entries on 52 thinkers on Space and Place including Yi-Fu Tuan, Mike Davis, Edward Soja, and Raymond Williams. For each entry (written by different contributors), readeres are provided with "biographical details and theoretical context," "spatial contributions" and "key advances and controversies." There is also a list of major works and a secondary source bibliography. This is useful in reviewing the context for an author's work and placing him or her in a community of thinkers. I particularly appreciated that the authors of the entries connected the thinkers. For example, the entry on Homi Ki. Bhabba discusses the way Gillian Rose employs Bhabba's work.

None of the entries here would substitute for a reading of an article, essay, book or oeuvre. The focus here is assessing the contributions and context rather than providing summaries of the thinkers' main works.

[K Shark · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a complete novice to the application of space and place to the social sciences, I got this book hoping that it would act as a crash course on the topic. That is exactly what it did.

I've gone from feeling frazzled when thinking about the difference between space and place to feeling confident in identifying the major theories, controversies and thinkers in the field.

I can't comment on how useful this book would be to someone who already has a lot of knowledge on the topic, but for me, it's been a time saver and a great starting point for beginning to integrate human geography approaches into my research.

[Andrew]

A short, neat little reference book with impeccable descriptions of loads of major thinkers. As with all "best of" lists, one tends to ask "why is he on there?" and "how could they leave him out?" I'm not going to make these types of critiques in this mini-review, simply because even though I don't expect anyone else to read it, it would be too self-indulgent even by my degraded standards.

If you're at all interested in geography or spatial thought, or are just a social researcher looking for a spatial perspective, this would probably be a great first stop.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really handy collection of essays of key thinkers and their contributions to geo-spatial theory.