Places on the Margin: Alternative Geographies of Modernity (International Library of Sociology) - Softcover

Shields, Rob

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415080223 ISBN 13: 9780415080224

Publisher: Routledge, 1992

Synopsis

The debate on modernity and postmodernity has awakened interest in the importance of the spatial for cultural formations. But what of those spaces that exist as much in the imagination as in physical reality? This book attempts to develop an alternative geography and sociology of space by examining `places on the margin'.

About this title

Review:

." . . a valuable contribution toward moving the current theoretical debate over space and society into the realm of concrete analysis."
-"The Professional Geographer
"This groundbreaking study will interest those committed to keeping abreast of current social theory. The case studies are good too!."
-"Choice

Synopsis:

Space and spatial practice has emerged as one of the key themes in the literature on modernity and postmodernity. Yet few attempts have been made to survey the theoretical terrain of space and modernity. Fewer still have endeavoured to apply this material in the form of concrete analysis. Places on the Margin attempts to correct the balance in three ways. First, it demonstrates the mutual relevance of sociology and geography. Second, it outlines a social theory of spatiality which focuses on the role of the spatial in making up culture. Third, it offers four detailed and penetrating case studies of the role of space in supporting social activities: Brighton and its place image of the Dirty Weekend and the beach riots of Mods and Rockers in the 1960s; the cultural meaning of Niagara Falls; the North-South Divide' in Britain and its role in national myths of British identity; and the Canadian spatialisation of the Far North as the True North Strong and Free' - a zone of purity and otherness where the distinctions upon which civilization is based break down.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0415080223
• ISBN 13: 9780415080224
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352