Space, Place, and Violence

by James A. Tyner

Direct, interpersonal violence is a pervasive, yet often mundane feature of our day-to-day lives; paradoxically, violence is both ordinary and extraordinary. Violence, in other words, is often hidden in plain sight. Space, Place, and Violence seeks to uncover that which is too to critically question both violent geographies and the geographies of violence. With a focus on direct violence, this book situates violent acts within the context of broader political and structural conditions. Violence, it is argued, is both a social and spatial practice. Adopting a geographic perspective, Space, Place, and Violence provides a critical reading of how violence takes place and also produces place. Specifically, four spatial vignettes—home, school, streets, and community—are introduced, designed so that students may think critically how ‘race’, sex, gender, and class inform violent geographies and geographies of violence.

Genres: Geography

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

About the author

James A. Tyner is Professor of Geography and Fellow of the American Association of Geographers. He is the author of 22 books, including War, Violence, and Population: Making the Body Count, which received the AAG Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Contribution to Geography. Jim is also the author of over 100 articles and book chapters. Other honors include the AAG Glenda Laws Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to geographic research on social issues. His research interests include the political economy of violence and the histories and geographies of 20th century Marxism.

Reviews

[Abigail Barefoot · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hoped to use this book as a starting point for my own research, but it was too introductory and lacked very little depth or analysis.