Spatial Formations

by Nigel Thrift

This essential guide to social theory and space is written by one of the leading writers in the field. Nigel Thrift explores the interconnections among people, places and things and demonstrates why they must be examined in relation to each other rather than in isolation - as is too often the case. Spatial Formations presents a formidable analysis of how space is socially constructed, unmade and reconstructed. Thrift provides the reader with a direct understanding of how social theory can be used to make sense of spatial forms and practices, and how spatial relations are made durable over space and time. These themes are developed through case studies, ranging from medieval time consciousness to the modern usage of m

Genres: Geography

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 1996

Reviews

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back when I used to read academic books, this one was my very favourite. Now, nearly twenty years later I still remember how articulate this author is. There is a lot of word play and the sentences flow into one another with a sense of productive tension. The research is unique (historical analysis about the circulation of knowledge within communities of English doctors) and the underlying model of uneven resource distribution seems pertinent even today.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, no one has given this a rating, so I feel a certain obligation to provide one. Providing some of the foundations of Thrift's "non-representational theory," this book is particularly good at connecting space to postmodernist social theory, Bourdieu and Giddens especially. If you have any interest in geographies that transcend the world of represented space and move into the stranger, murkier waters of "lived space," then this book is for you.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Solid effort within the academic cocoon.