Theory and Methods: Critical Essays in Human Geography (Contemporary Foundations of Space and Place)

By: Chris Philo

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Synopsis: This volume tackles the complex terrain of theory and methods, seeking to exemplify the major philosophical, social-theoretic and methodological developments - some with clear political and ethical implications - that have traversed human geography since the era of the 1960s when spatial science came to the fore. Coverage includes Marxist and humanistic geographies, and their many variations over the years, as well as ongoing debates about agency-structure and the concepts of time, space, place and scale. Feminist and other 'positioned' geographies, alongside poststructuralist and posthumanist geographies, are all evidenced, as well as writings that push against the very 'limits' of what human geography has embraced over these fifty plus years. The volume combines readings that are well-known and widely accepted as 'classic', with readings that, while less familiar, are valuable in how they illustrate different possibilities for theory and method within the discipline. The volume also includes a substantial introduction by the editor, contextualising the readings, and in the process providing a new interpretation of the last half-century of change within the thoughts and practices of human geography.