Postmodern Geography: Theory and Praxis

by Claudio Minca (Editor)

This edited collection brings together some of the most authoritative voices in contemporary debates in Michael Dear, Giuseppe Dematteis, Franco Farinelli, Cindy Katz, Don Mitchell, Gunnar Olsson, Neil Smith and Edward Soja to address the question of 'praxis' within broader discussions
of the postmodern in geography.

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2001

Reviews

[Val Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid collection, the Soja and Flusty essays are probably the best entries, integrating (what was at the time contemporary) post-structural and postmodern theory into human geography in a way that feels both innovative and seamless (though not without fault). I found the articles by Katz and Dematteis to be probably my least favorite — a shame because Katz is typically awesome. They both do the post-Jameson thing of defining postmodernism purely as *postmodernity*, an era, which I think is a mistake, and developing critiques that feel a bit shoddy and packed full of semi-liberal truisms out of it. The rest of the essays vary from okay to pretty good (Neil Smith is another standout). A lot of the anthology deals with globalism, being from 2002, and the discussions vary from aging incredibly well to being laughably shit in the face of the long hard 2000s and the contemporary resurgence of nationalism. Hard not to laugh when someone says that globalism would render nationalism obsolete among the ruling class when you’re living through 2025.

If this site had half stars, this would be a 3.5. I’m rounding up to a 4 because even the entries I didn’t love were thoughtful and well-penned. Recommended, even for its age.