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Postmodern Geographies: The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory
Building on the work of Foucault, Giddens, Jameson and Lefebvre, one of America's geographers argues for a rethinking of the dialectics of space, time and social being.
266 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 27, 2021
Most of this went over my head and it was hard to understand and, even worse, extremely boring. I wasn't impressed with this book.
Read
April 11, 2008Edward Soja is the absolute shit, but this is NOT a good starting point for his works. Postmetropolis is far more accessible. That said, this is really good. For us indignant folks with geospatial imaginations, this is an INTENSELY well-researched excursion into the exclusion of spatial analysis from the critical sphere. Probably not for the general reader, or even the general academic reader (at least in its entirety), though. It's quite dense, and heavily reliant on an at least passing familiarity with Harvey, Jameson, &c. However, I strongly recommend the chapter "Reassertions: Towards a Spatialized Ontology" for anyone interested in critical theory. It's in this chapter that Soja's spatial vision is most lucid, and it's damn interesting.
July 28, 2011
As important and useful as this book as a powerful assertion of the need for a spatial awareness in social theory it is very much of its time (the late 1980s) although still worth visiting. Soja is throughly correct to note the absence and assert the importance of a spatial dimension to social theory that has for too long privileged the temporal (I say that as a historian). Chapters 3 & 5 remain important and useful (some of the other chapters have not stood the test of time (I write this 20 years after the book came out, athough I appreciate his denunciations of Giddens!). Lefebvre's The Production of Space is I think more useful although both are hard to grapple with, and it was not available in English when this book came out so for many of us it was our first introdcution to Lefebvre.
March 7, 2013
Verso books has made available one of Edward W. Soja's first published works as part
of its radical thinkers series. Postmodern Geographies is an early meditation on the question
of space in capitalism and geography in modern critical theory. One might wonder about the
relevancy of this to radical politics while wading through passages on spatialized ontology, but
in fact the refocus on this work comes at a perfect time to help rethink political upheavals that
have occurred in just the last few weeks.
In the recent uprising in Egypt which ousted the octagenarian thug Hosni Mubarak,
Tahrir Square became the symbolic and literal center of the aspirations of a wide-range of
Egyptians hoping to awake from the oppressive doldrums of 30 years of emergency laws and
neo-liberal social decay. World-wide television viewers were treated to daily images of endless
crowds of protestors, dramatic street battles, and eventually the jubilation that filled the
square when Mubarak begrudgingly stepped down. Reporters were on hand to record the
slogans, the acts of social solidarity, and the faces of Egyptians themselves; many of whom
were experiencing the freedom to assemble freely for the first time in their lives.
For an uprising that is credited as having been originally started online using social
media, it is remarkable to see how important a physical geographical place became in deciding
the fate of the movement in Egypt. Despite any praise on the part of the media that served to
fetishize technology and the role of these new online forms of communication in reshaping
social movements, in the end it was people on the ground, occupying central squares and
factories across Egypt, which brought about tangible change. Further revolts have brought to
our attention similar locations in other World capitals. And in America, the capital building in
Madion, Wisconsin has become a focal point by being occupied by public employer unions
and supporters staging a protest against anti-labor legislation meekly disguised as budgetary
policy measures. It seems as though taking control of public space in order to create a central
point of resistance has done more in a few weeks in these situations than merely blogging and
tweeting could have ever done.
There is something refreshingly old fashioned about seeing this kind of street politics
reemerging. Of course we cannot be grateful for the outrageous injustices that have brought
people out to the streets. But seeing the classic images of marching columns of protestors,
barricades, and grassroots rallies is something never seen before by a young leftist raised
almost entirely after the collapse of the USSR. There was an aspect of immediacy, something
so human, about seeing people stare down the institutions of state oppression face to face.
And in reading Soja's insights into the ways in which oppression is now veiled more by
geography than history, we can begin to understand the novelty of seeing direct political
confrontation in public space.
Postmodern Geographies is a collection of 9 essays which each deal with aspects of
space in critical social theory. Starting with a history of the resistance to the conceptualization
of space in critical theory, Soja explains how geography was often neglected for being
considered to be stilted, empirical, and thoroughly undialectical as opposed to the preferred
focus on time and history. He gives a thorough summary of why space has often been pushed
to the side by the injunction to “always historicize”. Showing the extent of this resistance, He
is able to exhibit the originality of Henri Lefebvre's thought in approaching space as well as
tracing the awakening of Michel Foucault to the usefulness that geography would have in his
own investigation of social institutions. We are also shown how other big names in critical
theory have incorporated spatiality into their works. In a motif that continues through the
book, in this historical explanation we begin to see for ourselves how thinking about space
offer new perspectives on understanding how the survival of capitalism depends on the
creation of space. At this point it is at the micro-level of everyday life, what Lefebvre calls
the “bureaucratic society of controlled consumption”. The essay offers a wealth of academic
sources for anyone interested in how an individual exists within a space constructed to induce
consumption and quiescence. Anyone raised in the suburbs can find a fair deal that resonates
with this approach to thinking about space.
In following essays, Soja goes on to narrate the various debates that come with
incorporating the concept of spatiality into critical theory. For instance, in the chapter on
the “Socio-spatial Dialectic”, we see how difficult it is to conceptualize how exactly social
relations of production produce space. Is the built environment a product of this process, or
merely part of the “superstructure”? How do we understand a struggle over public space, or
rent, using the Marxist form of analysis which is more immediately concerned with the
struggle going on in the workplace? Soja provides some fascinating viewpoints and directs our
attention towards an understanding of why controlling public space is still important in our
contemporary age. Political power is not only interested in controlling what goes on at the
point of production or in the realm of ideology, but indeed aims to create a built environment
conducive to the survival of capitalism. Class struggle, therefore, must include a fight over the
production of space and its “territorial structure of exploitation and domination”. By taking
over public space, these recent uprisings in places like Wisconsin and Egypt have made a
powerful assertion that a democratic and free sense of space is not one in which capitalism is
able to roam “freely”, but instead one where democratic deliberation is present and central.
Soja's strengths definitely lie in bringing together theories of space that have as their
subject the urban environment. At other levels he doesn't seem as convincing. Although
necessary to the stated goal of a comprehensive reassertion of space at all levels of critical
theory, his passages on “spatialized ontology” and Anthony Giddens' concept
of “structuration” seem particularly unhelpful. He also takes a step in the opposite direction
by becoming less theoretical and applying his and other critical theorists' ideas on spatiality to
a geographical portrait of Los Angeles. Soja offers some spectacular figures on the immense
economic output of Los Angeles, and shows empirically just how fractured and unequal the
built environment is. However, after such an excellent explanation of the dialectic of space in
capitalism and a strong critique of the resistance to the role of space in critical theory, it seems
ironic that his move to exhibiting the real-life example of the capital of postmodern geography
seems much more like dry empiricism than dynamic analysis.
As political struggle goes forward, Edward Soja's book will be useful by giving us
another approach to envisioning resistance to the logic of capitalism. Using his excellent
examination of how capital produces and controls space, it is up to us to work out the
implications. Especially given the preliminary and open-ended nature of Postmodern
Geographies, the ways in which we can reassert space into our political strategies is ample.
When thinking about a fight over use of a public square, or the fate of a marginalized urban
group, foreign wars, or even our own individual place in everyday life, it will be fruitful to
remember a new injunction: always territorialize!
of its radical thinkers series. Postmodern Geographies is an early meditation on the question
of space in capitalism and geography in modern critical theory. One might wonder about the
relevancy of this to radical politics while wading through passages on spatialized ontology, but
in fact the refocus on this work comes at a perfect time to help rethink political upheavals that
have occurred in just the last few weeks.
In the recent uprising in Egypt which ousted the octagenarian thug Hosni Mubarak,
Tahrir Square became the symbolic and literal center of the aspirations of a wide-range of
Egyptians hoping to awake from the oppressive doldrums of 30 years of emergency laws and
neo-liberal social decay. World-wide television viewers were treated to daily images of endless
crowds of protestors, dramatic street battles, and eventually the jubilation that filled the
square when Mubarak begrudgingly stepped down. Reporters were on hand to record the
slogans, the acts of social solidarity, and the faces of Egyptians themselves; many of whom
were experiencing the freedom to assemble freely for the first time in their lives.
For an uprising that is credited as having been originally started online using social
media, it is remarkable to see how important a physical geographical place became in deciding
the fate of the movement in Egypt. Despite any praise on the part of the media that served to
fetishize technology and the role of these new online forms of communication in reshaping
social movements, in the end it was people on the ground, occupying central squares and
factories across Egypt, which brought about tangible change. Further revolts have brought to
our attention similar locations in other World capitals. And in America, the capital building in
Madion, Wisconsin has become a focal point by being occupied by public employer unions
and supporters staging a protest against anti-labor legislation meekly disguised as budgetary
policy measures. It seems as though taking control of public space in order to create a central
point of resistance has done more in a few weeks in these situations than merely blogging and
tweeting could have ever done.
There is something refreshingly old fashioned about seeing this kind of street politics
reemerging. Of course we cannot be grateful for the outrageous injustices that have brought
people out to the streets. But seeing the classic images of marching columns of protestors,
barricades, and grassroots rallies is something never seen before by a young leftist raised
almost entirely after the collapse of the USSR. There was an aspect of immediacy, something
so human, about seeing people stare down the institutions of state oppression face to face.
And in reading Soja's insights into the ways in which oppression is now veiled more by
geography than history, we can begin to understand the novelty of seeing direct political
confrontation in public space.
Postmodern Geographies is a collection of 9 essays which each deal with aspects of
space in critical social theory. Starting with a history of the resistance to the conceptualization
of space in critical theory, Soja explains how geography was often neglected for being
considered to be stilted, empirical, and thoroughly undialectical as opposed to the preferred
focus on time and history. He gives a thorough summary of why space has often been pushed
to the side by the injunction to “always historicize”. Showing the extent of this resistance, He
is able to exhibit the originality of Henri Lefebvre's thought in approaching space as well as
tracing the awakening of Michel Foucault to the usefulness that geography would have in his
own investigation of social institutions. We are also shown how other big names in critical
theory have incorporated spatiality into their works. In a motif that continues through the
book, in this historical explanation we begin to see for ourselves how thinking about space
offer new perspectives on understanding how the survival of capitalism depends on the
creation of space. At this point it is at the micro-level of everyday life, what Lefebvre calls
the “bureaucratic society of controlled consumption”. The essay offers a wealth of academic
sources for anyone interested in how an individual exists within a space constructed to induce
consumption and quiescence. Anyone raised in the suburbs can find a fair deal that resonates
with this approach to thinking about space.
In following essays, Soja goes on to narrate the various debates that come with
incorporating the concept of spatiality into critical theory. For instance, in the chapter on
the “Socio-spatial Dialectic”, we see how difficult it is to conceptualize how exactly social
relations of production produce space. Is the built environment a product of this process, or
merely part of the “superstructure”? How do we understand a struggle over public space, or
rent, using the Marxist form of analysis which is more immediately concerned with the
struggle going on in the workplace? Soja provides some fascinating viewpoints and directs our
attention towards an understanding of why controlling public space is still important in our
contemporary age. Political power is not only interested in controlling what goes on at the
point of production or in the realm of ideology, but indeed aims to create a built environment
conducive to the survival of capitalism. Class struggle, therefore, must include a fight over the
production of space and its “territorial structure of exploitation and domination”. By taking
over public space, these recent uprisings in places like Wisconsin and Egypt have made a
powerful assertion that a democratic and free sense of space is not one in which capitalism is
able to roam “freely”, but instead one where democratic deliberation is present and central.
Soja's strengths definitely lie in bringing together theories of space that have as their
subject the urban environment. At other levels he doesn't seem as convincing. Although
necessary to the stated goal of a comprehensive reassertion of space at all levels of critical
theory, his passages on “spatialized ontology” and Anthony Giddens' concept
of “structuration” seem particularly unhelpful. He also takes a step in the opposite direction
by becoming less theoretical and applying his and other critical theorists' ideas on spatiality to
a geographical portrait of Los Angeles. Soja offers some spectacular figures on the immense
economic output of Los Angeles, and shows empirically just how fractured and unequal the
built environment is. However, after such an excellent explanation of the dialectic of space in
capitalism and a strong critique of the resistance to the role of space in critical theory, it seems
ironic that his move to exhibiting the real-life example of the capital of postmodern geography
seems much more like dry empiricism than dynamic analysis.
As political struggle goes forward, Edward Soja's book will be useful by giving us
another approach to envisioning resistance to the logic of capitalism. Using his excellent
examination of how capital produces and controls space, it is up to us to work out the
implications. Especially given the preliminary and open-ended nature of Postmodern
Geographies, the ways in which we can reassert space into our political strategies is ample.
When thinking about a fight over use of a public square, or the fate of a marginalized urban
group, foreign wars, or even our own individual place in everyday life, it will be fruitful to
remember a new injunction: always territorialize!
December 18, 2017
I found this book fascinating although it should be noted my tolerance for academic Marxism is very high and I can't imagine someone getting much out of it unless they fit a very specific criteria! But from the perspective of a sociologist (with a philosophy background) lured into geography by the appeal of Henri Lefebvre this was the most excited I have been reading nonfiction in years.
Read
February 3, 2021tbh i read this too quickly bc i am mining it for information.... but some v solid stuff, good explanation of what's happening with the spatial turn, good analysis of what is/was missing in the field wrt space-place-territorality. last chapter is an absolute trip tho... like why did u do That soja, was it necessary
August 6, 2014
Geesh. Don't read this.
Okay, that is harsh, but the book is basically a history of spatial theory with a heavy bent toward Marxist theorists. And lots of capitalism and economics going on. Just wasn't my cup of tea. Very academic, by the way. Very, very academic. This person said that, and that person said this.
The last two chapters looked hopeful: It All Comes Together in Los Angeles and Taking Los Angeles Apart: Towards a Postmodern Geography. But they weren't, really. Chapter eight went through economic numbers from 1890 to the present--circa 1989. Chapter nine tried then to give you a feel for the city, but I found Soja's analysis of Los Angeles lacking.
Okay, that is harsh, but the book is basically a history of spatial theory with a heavy bent toward Marxist theorists. And lots of capitalism and economics going on. Just wasn't my cup of tea. Very academic, by the way. Very, very academic. This person said that, and that person said this.
The last two chapters looked hopeful: It All Comes Together in Los Angeles and Taking Los Angeles Apart: Towards a Postmodern Geography. But they weren't, really. Chapter eight went through economic numbers from 1890 to the present--circa 1989. Chapter nine tried then to give you a feel for the city, but I found Soja's analysis of Los Angeles lacking.
May 17, 2019
Kitabı 2 bölüme ayırabilirim. İlk bölümde bazı düşünürleri karşılaştırarak geçen ( kendimce isimlerini duyduğum, bazılarından bir kaç kitap okuduğum ) ki pek anlayamadığım teorikliği , ikinci bölüm de california üzerinden anlatım/örnekleme dir . California bölümünü de pek anlayamadığımdan kitap benim için verimli bir okuma olamadı. Bazı Amerika lı yazarlarda bu duyguyu hissediyorum. Sanki yaşadığım dünya dan değil de bilmediğim, anlayamadığım uzak bir dünya dan mışcasına. Bir de konuya teoriktik ve karşılaştırma girince konu daha da uzaklaştı benim için, her ne kadar kapak ismi ilgimi çeksede .
March 13, 2020
The treatment of both space and time in social theory is a dialectic masterpiece. I read this book back in the 90s just after reading Harvey's 'The Condition of Postmodernity'. Both deeply insightful books, but Soja dares to reach a new level of informed abstraction that is still cable of underpinning the empirical pillars within his arguments. Soja brings to the fore (in my opinion) the critical moment(s) that drive the political economy and a correct understanding of the flow of forces that act upon it! Highly recommended!
Read
December 9, 2021Knowledge bomb. Huge chunks of spatial theory. Much needed spatial/geographical detox for my crude, less-than-concrete all-too-historical Marxist perspectives. Will definitely be referred to and consulted in the future.
February 22, 2010
In this moment I am reading this book.
February 16, 2012
Nice summations of various critical spatial perspectives.
December 6, 2015
Definitely a must read for geographers and students of social science, but I was surprised by how much Soja leaned on past literature
August 16, 2022
3.8/4 vì chưa cảm giác hiểu hết được vì những gì presented in the book but im getting the gist
nhìn chung thì the author has some strong and interesting articulations và một tư duy distinctively spatial và urban planning (*cough* unrban planning prof *cough*). có mention về architecture và các elements in an urban context so it can be food for thoughts. đúng như 1 sự mô tả nào đó đã đọc được về quyển này thì nó là một cái systematic review với mọi thứ được gói gọn neatly and, well, systematic. I also got the chance để bò về existential and phenomenological roots hehe
phần về spatial ontology có lẽ là cái closest to my point of interest vì những thứ mác-xít còn lại thật đau đầu... (và cũng tại vì đang đọc 1 thứ mác xít khác...)
cảm ơn những giờ địa đã mài dũa sự đọc biểu đồ và nhớ biểu đồ. I am eternally grateful.
điểm yếu là viết prosy đến khó hiểu. rất rất thích dùng francophone metaphors xong đọc kiểu edge mở trăm tabs và ngồi xem nó reference về cái gì... (bảo sao trio với 2 chiếc người marxist còn lại)
còn rì nữa nhỉ spoiler alert thì chap cuối ban đầu đọc về empircal pictures hơi "dễ" nên thấy phần này không structured và bị weak hơn so với phần trước đó nhưng mà phần deconstruct đè đầu cưỡi cổ quá nên rút lại =))) nếu xét về research sequence thì đúng là fieldnote phải ở đầu rồi nên cứ keep in mind cái đo và cảm thấy quào im still a dumb bitch =))))
cái intent to propose simultaneity chắc cũng tùy người nạp được vào đầu nhưng mà i have hopes for this book and am not disappointed. với cả cái reasserted spatial logic qua language use cũng là touchpoint với mình so im pleased (và cũng hơi traumatic nhưng mà im good!! cảm giác invigorated từ sự đọc này)
xin cảm ơn Soja and rest in peace.
nhìn chung thì the author has some strong and interesting articulations và một tư duy distinctively spatial và urban planning (*cough* unrban planning prof *cough*). có mention về architecture và các elements in an urban context so it can be food for thoughts. đúng như 1 sự mô tả nào đó đã đọc được về quyển này thì nó là một cái systematic review với mọi thứ được gói gọn neatly and, well, systematic. I also got the chance để bò về existential and phenomenological roots hehe
phần về spatial ontology có lẽ là cái closest to my point of interest vì những thứ mác-xít còn lại thật đau đầu... (và cũng tại vì đang đọc 1 thứ mác xít khác...)
cảm ơn những giờ địa đã mài dũa sự đọc biểu đồ và nhớ biểu đồ. I am eternally grateful.
điểm yếu là viết prosy đến khó hiểu. rất rất thích dùng francophone metaphors xong đọc kiểu edge mở trăm tabs và ngồi xem nó reference về cái gì... (bảo sao trio với 2 chiếc người marxist còn lại)
còn rì nữa nhỉ spoiler alert thì chap cuối ban đầu đọc về empircal pictures hơi "dễ" nên thấy phần này không structured và bị weak hơn so với phần trước đó nhưng mà phần deconstruct đè đầu cưỡi cổ quá nên rút lại =))) nếu xét về research sequence thì đúng là fieldnote phải ở đầu rồi nên cứ keep in mind cái đo và cảm thấy quào im still a dumb bitch =))))
cái intent to propose simultaneity chắc cũng tùy người nạp được vào đầu nhưng mà i have hopes for this book and am not disappointed. với cả cái reasserted spatial logic qua language use cũng là touchpoint với mình so im pleased (và cũng hơi traumatic nhưng mà im good!! cảm giác invigorated từ sự đọc này)
xin cảm ơn Soja and rest in peace.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2024
really Soja's best. feels monumental, both in how he tracks how historicity became hegemonized in urban sociology, history, etc. and how space itself is shaped through political history, while also shaping that very history. i think some more emphasis on why space NOW is so important (i.e. Harvey and the increasing prominence of secondary circuits of capital like finance, etc. has reasserted space's, especially in the center city, importance to the accumulation of and investment of (speculative) surplus capital) would have been helpful but he's truly covering a lot of ground here so don't really blame him.
i think soja's weaknesses as an academic/writer here are the same as his other books i.e. while his claims concerning the socio-spatial dialectic are no doubt true, he always has trouble really pinpointing how space exactly shapes social relations -- particularly when it comes to how resistance and labor movements can utilize space to fight back against labor disciplining, etc. However, his writing elsewhere here is just so damn good, his points really lucid and truly foundational to where and what human geography has become over the last 30 years ,that it's easily forgiven.
kind of a bible.
i think soja's weaknesses as an academic/writer here are the same as his other books i.e. while his claims concerning the socio-spatial dialectic are no doubt true, he always has trouble really pinpointing how space exactly shapes social relations -- particularly when it comes to how resistance and labor movements can utilize space to fight back against labor disciplining, etc. However, his writing elsewhere here is just so damn good, his points really lucid and truly foundational to where and what human geography has become over the last 30 years ,that it's easily forgiven.
kind of a bible.
November 3, 2017
This is definitely less accessible than some of Soja's other work, but it does provide a productive overview of some of Lefebvre. This is definitely a book about Marxist geography/theories of spatiality at its heart -- Soja is dealing with spatiality and class struggle, but he's also clarifying why spatiality has to be discussed contextually rather than solely through materiality.
"We make our own history and geography, but not just as we please; we do not make them under circumstances chosen by ourselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the historical geographies produced in the past" (p. 129). Space is a product of the social as well as the material and, in fact, the material is shaped by the social. Studying only the measurable appearances of space rather than the contextual, social spatiality of human life reduces space to just physical objects that exist without political process or human influence.
"We make our own history and geography, but not just as we please; we do not make them under circumstances chosen by ourselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the historical geographies produced in the past" (p. 129). Space is a product of the social as well as the material and, in fact, the material is shaped by the social. Studying only the measurable appearances of space rather than the contextual, social spatiality of human life reduces space to just physical objects that exist without political process or human influence.
November 23, 2017
I picked this book with such promise. It barely made it through the preface.
The problem isn't so much with the content - it's useful as an index if you're interested in this particular area of study - as it is with the fanboyish pretentiousness with which it is written. I couldn't believe this was a 'distinguished professor' speaking. The jargon just gets to his head. Any point worth making is endlessly regurgitated through awkward rephrasals; sprinkled as they are throughout the prose without any sequencing (as that would go against the ever-so-radical premise of the book). It's infuriating that so many reviews caution away readers from how 'dense' it is - the jargon isn't a cipher for some profound insights which lay beneath, it's just an excited reportage of how his discipline developed over time. The star it does get is for cheering on Lefebvre. *High-Five* - but your writing still sucks.
The problem isn't so much with the content - it's useful as an index if you're interested in this particular area of study - as it is with the fanboyish pretentiousness with which it is written. I couldn't believe this was a 'distinguished professor' speaking. The jargon just gets to his head. Any point worth making is endlessly regurgitated through awkward rephrasals; sprinkled as they are throughout the prose without any sequencing (as that would go against the ever-so-radical premise of the book). It's infuriating that so many reviews caution away readers from how 'dense' it is - the jargon isn't a cipher for some profound insights which lay beneath, it's just an excited reportage of how his discipline developed over time. The star it does get is for cheering on Lefebvre. *High-Five* - but your writing still sucks.
March 5, 2024
Really enjoyed what this book had to say, but not the way it went about it saying it. Too many meandering ideas repeated in academic jargon, and the meaty points this book truly does make get a bit lost in the sauce. I never want to hear the phrase “fin de siècle” ever again.
This very aspect of the book likely contributes to its status as a very solid resource for academics working in or around critical geography. Me? I was hoping for something a bit more synthesized and punchy. All that said, this book makes a strong argument for the importance of considering space in the development of both theory and praxis. I see contemporary examples of this book’s 1980s-based calls for spatial praxis in anti-gentrification and environmental justice movements. That’s something I’d like to dive in more on.
This very aspect of the book likely contributes to its status as a very solid resource for academics working in or around critical geography. Me? I was hoping for something a bit more synthesized and punchy. All that said, this book makes a strong argument for the importance of considering space in the development of both theory and praxis. I see contemporary examples of this book’s 1980s-based calls for spatial praxis in anti-gentrification and environmental justice movements. That’s something I’d like to dive in more on.
March 18, 2022
(Disclaimer: this is not an easy book to read, even for academics)
I enjoyed this book very much. It is an absolutely essential book to understand how marxist studies on geography have avoided the inclusion of a real "spatial turn" or how, in many cases, they have tried to introduce a spatial lens in such studies but failed to do so in a complete way. Soja, recovering Lefebvre and Giddens among others, proposes a new approach for a real introduction of the spatial and of spatiality in modern urban studies in order to surpass the capitalist and imperialist way of transforming space.
I enjoyed this book very much. It is an absolutely essential book to understand how marxist studies on geography have avoided the inclusion of a real "spatial turn" or how, in many cases, they have tried to introduce a spatial lens in such studies but failed to do so in a complete way. Soja, recovering Lefebvre and Giddens among others, proposes a new approach for a real introduction of the spatial and of spatiality in modern urban studies in order to surpass the capitalist and imperialist way of transforming space.
Read
April 22, 2020Truly unreadble.
September 11, 2022
Soja had a pretty clear argument about geography, so the first three chapters or so could have been one chapter.
September 25, 2022
This is utter bullshit that's been written better by other authors.
Read
November 29, 2023The moment I finished I wanted to reread it.
February 8, 2008
Excellent so far.
November 22, 2018
I loved
Was amazing, I really love it
Was amazing, I really love it
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