Mapping the Present: Heidegger, Foucault and the Project of a Spatial History - Softcover

Elden, Stuart

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0826458475 ISBN 13: 9780826458476

Publisher: Continuum, 2002

Synopsis

In a late interview, Foucault, suggested that Heidegger was for him the essential philosopher. Taking this claim seriously, Mapping the Present assesses the relationship between these two thinkers, particularly on the issue of space and history. It suggests that space and history need to be rethought, and combined as a spatial history, rather than as a history of space. In other words, space should become not merely an object of analysis, but a tool of analysis.The first half of the book concentrates on Heidegger: from the early occlusion of space, through the politically charged readings of Nietzsche and Holderlin, to the later work on art, technology and the polis which accord equal status to issues of spatiality. Foucault's work is then rethought in the light of the analysis of Heidegger, and the project of a spatial history established through re-readings of his works on madness and discipline.

About this title

About the Author

Stuart Elden is a Professor of Political Geography at Durham University.

From the Back Cover

"A marvellous book - critical and generous, clear and sophisticated, wise and witty. For those interested in the project of a spatial history, Elden has opened up wholly new ways of thinking about Heidegger and Foucault that are alert to the philosophical and theoretical complexities of their writings and to the political and ethical responsibilities of a history of the present." Derek Gregory

"Offers a powerful reinterpretation of Foucault and reveals the frequently neglected significance of the work of Heidegger to Foucault's intellectual project. Mapping the Present provides analytically rigorous yet accessible reinterpretations of relevant works of both Foucault and Heidegger and demonstrates the crucial importance of spatial relations in the exercise of modern forms of power." Barry Smart

In a late interview, Foucault, suggested that Heidegger was for him the 'essential philosopher'. Taking this claim seriously, Mapping the Present assesses the relationship between these two thinkers, particularly on the issue of space and history. It suggests that space and history need to be rethought, and combined as a spatial history, rather than as a history of space. In other words, space should become not merely an object of analysis, but a tool of analysis.

The first half of the book concentrates on Heidegger: from the early occlusion of space, through the politically charged readings of Nietzsche and Holderlin, to the later work on art, technology and the polis which accord equal status to issues of spatiality. Foucault's work is then rethought in the light of the analysis of Heidegger, and the project of a spatial history established through re-readings of his works on madness and discipline.

Edition details

• Publisher: Continuum
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0826458475
• ISBN 13: 9780826458476
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 232