re-emergenct of concept of spacegarimaaggarwal

8/3/2019 Re-Emergenct of Concept of Spacegarimaaggarwal

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Garima Aggarwal 1

Re-emergence of Concept of Space: A Post-Modernist ApproachBy Garima Aggarwal

1. Introduction

The concept of Geography as a science of space has been exceedinglyimportant in history of geographic thought. Since beginning of Geography as a scientific

subject, defining the concept of space has been identified as one of the important tasks

of Geographers. Hartshorne in 1939 stated that Geographers task is to describe and

analyze the interaction and integration of phenomena in terms of space. Jammer (1954)

came up with concept of two kinds of spaces- first, space as a positional quality of the

world of material objects or events that means space is a relative quality . Secondly,

space is containing all the material objects i.e. an absolute quality . Historical evolution

of scientific concepts of space is bound up with the progress of physical theory. Kant in

1963, gave a relative view of space, which consists of a system of relations among

substances and spatial magnitude. In 1970, Kant followed Newtonians notion 1 of

absolute space and described space as a framework of things and events instead of

thing or event. Peter Haggets Locational Analysis and Human Geography in 1965 is

one of the landmarks of the quantitative revolution. He discussed use of locational

thoeries, models, laws and quantitative methods (sampling, geometry etc.) in defining

space in absolute terms. In 1969, David Harvey, emphasized that concept of spacevary from cultural context to another and within broad cultural configuration smaller sub-

groups may develop a particular conceptual apparatus with respect to space geared to

the particular role which they perform in society. Any individual within the society may

likewise carry around with him a spatial scheme (Lee, 1963) or a cognitive or metal map

(Hollowell, 1955), which reflects that individuals cultural and physical experience and

which in turn, affects the individuals behaviour in space and perhaps, his visual

perception of spatial relationships 2.

Spatial concepts have changed very frequently. Cultural changes often involves

change in spatial concepts, but on occasion the sudden need to reappraise spatial

1 Newtons law of motion space- based on the euclidean geometry, which furnished definition on point,line and surface in 300 B.C. (David Harvey, 1969) 2 David Harvey, Explanation in Human Geography, 1969.


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concepts through scientific discoveries has delivered a powerful jolt to an existing set of

cultural values. In twenty-first century, the debate on spaces being replayed by

geographers consider the ways in which new image forms are again providing new

social cultural pathologies but also new opportunities, as we have seen in the case of

the sheer pervasiveness of the screen and the images supply by it, called as

postmodernism (Harvey, 1989).

2. Postmodernism:

The post on the beginning of the word postmodernism indicates that there was a

modern way of thinking that proceeds the postmodern way of thinking. Knox and

Marston(2004) defined modernity as a forward-looking view of world that emphasizesreason, scientific rationality, creativity, novelty and progress. This means that a scientist

should be able to withhold the truth and must, at all times, strive to discover new things.

The period of modernity started in the 16th

century, the time of the Renaissance

and the emergence of capitalism. The world of scientific discoveries and commerce

slowly took over the place of the world focused on the past. The philosophical

movement of modernism arose in the 18th

century where the belief in universal human

progress and the sovereignty of scientific reasoning became important. The

philosophers were rational and searching for universal laws. The modern way of

thinking developed through the industrial revolution. Great progress was being made

with the production that became more efficient and more structured. At the end of the

industrial revolution the modern way of thinking was widely accepted (Knox and

Marston, 2004).

Postmodernism is a set of ideas that emerged in academic studies in the mid-

80s of last century, but its not clear exactly when postmodernism begins. Its also hard

to define, because it is a term, which appears in many different disciplines, such as art,

architecture, literature, sociology, communications, and technology. Postmodernism

emphasizes the unclearness, the fragmented, the multiformity, the missing of real

conformity and of big ordering principles in society. There is not one universal truth, but


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there are multiple views or theories, which always are bounded to place and time.

Meanings are related to the given context.

3. Re-emergence of Concept of Space: Post Modernist Approach

The geographers learnt a lot from postmodern way of thinking. The most

important thing geographers learnt from it is that observations are steered and selected,

coloured and organized by the ideas and expectations of the observer. Postmodernism

lays the emphasis on the meaning of Geography, instead of the material aspects of

Geography (as modernism does).

The modern space was characterized through position separation, large-scale, a

concise rationality and spatial specialization and standardization. The post-modern

space is characterized through spatial variety over short distances, through feeling for

historical and scenic qualities on the spot through a local instead of regional

architecture, though revaluation of old business buildings and through the introduction

of playful or ironic elements in the physical surroundings.

Human Geographers encountered postmodern challenge in 1980s. Fredric

Jameson, in 1984, published an article focusing geographers attention on spatiality and

postmodernity. In his paper, he argued that postmodernism in Geography was partly a

consequence of the prominence afforded to space in an influential essay on

postmodern culture. One of his important finding was that existing time-space systems

of societal organization and perception have been fundamentally altered to

accommodate the emergent realms of a global capitalism, consequently, a new

postmodern hyperspace has emerged, the time-space coordinates of which we can so

far only dimly perceive (the spaces of postmodernity). 3 Postmodernism is contrary to

modernist thinking because it questions establishing truth claims and knowledgeaccumulation strategies. In essence, postmodernism is based upon the notion that there

is no universal theory .

3 Michael Dear, The Postmodern Turn, in Claudio Minca(Ed), Postmodern Geography: Theory and Praxis, 2001 pp 13.


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The challenge of Jameson was taken up by two of the earliest Geographers- M.

Dear (1986) and E.W. Soja (1986). The geographers published articles dealing

explicitly with postmodernism in Geography. They claimed that there is no absolute truth

and no truth outside the interpretation (Lyotard, 1984). It was stressed that none of the

theory is sufficient for explaining the occurrences of a phenomenon and therefore no

one should be privileged as better than anyone. Postmodern thinking is thus

concerned with developing an attitude towards knowledge, methods, theories

and communication. By 1988, Michael Dear argued for the relative coherence of what

he styled the postmodern challenge to human geography. His plea was premised on

the significance of space in postmodern thought and the potential of geographys

contribution to a rapidly evolving field of social inquiry. He advocated that no ones voice

should be excluded from dialogue.

The historical reasons for the absorption of postmodern thought into space

concept in geography can be seen in the resurgence period of Marxist social theory in

the late 1960s and 1970s. The growing connection between space geography and

social theory were given concrete expression in 1983, with appearance of the Journal

Society and Space as a part of Environmental and Planning series. The journal included

several influential publications on time and space (Thrift, 1983), gender division of urban

space (McDowell, 1983), social relations and spatial structures (Gregory and Urry,1985) and then essays by Dear and Soja in 1986. Though, these publications were not

so theoretical in nature but they advocated the central issue of postmodern spaces. 4

So, from above discussions, we can say that the postmodern approach

encourages analysis of socio-spatial relations within specific contexts without claming

universalities. Geographers, such as, Alan Scott, Michael Dear and Ed Soja, began to

confront that cities were enhancing in ways that could not be adequately explained by

modernist theories such as Marxism and humanism. E.W. Soja, 1989 in PostmodernGeographies: The Reassertion of Space in the Critical Social Theory attempted to

weave together threads of new critical theory by embracing a social-spatial dialectic

that brought human geography to the forefront. His observations on reconstruction of

4 Ibid , Michael J. Dear, 2001, pp 13-14.


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human geography incorporates Hennery Lefebvres theme of the social production of

space. Soja (1989) in his book confronted with an example of Los Angeles city and

revealed that a diverse and ever-changing landscape constantly being shaped in

innumerable ways through local politics, state, national policies and institutional

directives and the internationalization and globalization of trade and labour. These

processes often work in contradictory ways, which means that while modernist-framed

urban theory will detect trends similar to other cities, it will also be inadequate in other

ways, and will present a vision of the city which adds with the held by many of its

residents 5.

. A year later, Cookes Back to the Future: Modernity, Postmodernity and

Locality appeared- a perspective of the localities project in Great Britain that was

sympathetic to the claims of postmodernism. 6 The weightage to Postmodernism was

increased by 1991, when it was included in the textbooks of Geographical thought.

Some other important publications and english translation of Lefebvres La Production

de lEscape was especially important to further help in flourishing the subject. Between

1986 and 1994, over 50 articles and critical commentaries have published on the theme

of society and space in prominent journals such as American Annals of Geographers,

the Canadian Geographers and Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. A

critique of postmodernism was published in Harveys The Condition of Postmodernity: An Inquiry into the origins of Cultural Change which was an openly hostile critique of

postmodernism that attempted to subsume it with the explanatory rubric of Marxism 7

Zukin (1992) contended that the city changes as the consumption of the space is

abstracted from the logic of industrial production. Exploring the connections between

cultural and political economy in new ways, theorists namely Dear, Soja and Zukin

suggested that a sensitivity to place is essential if one wishes to do justice to the

complex interplay of capital and culture. Dear and Flusty (1998) similarly explored theconcept of postmodern urbanism, documenting that how cities are organized and run

5 Phil Gubbard, Rob Kitchin, Brendan Bartley & Duncan Fuller, Thinking Geographically: Space, Theory andContemporary Human Geography, 2002. pp. 75-76.6 Michael J. Dear and Steven Flusty, The Spaces of Postmodernity, 2002, p 9.7 Michael J. Dear, The Postmodern Turn, in Claudio Minca(Ed), Postmodern Geography: Theory and Praxis,2001. pp 13-14.


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today is very different from in the early part of the twentieth century. On the lines of Ed.

Soja, they suggested that there has been a radical break in the way cities are

developing. Again, exemplifying the case of Los Angeles, they detailed out that

how the ways of single-centered city with growth out from the centre as

represented in the models of Chicago school, including Burgesss concentric

ring theory or Hoyts Sector They have been replaced by a set of differentiated,

competing urbanism created by cities having to adapt economically to the force

of flexible accumulation and globalization. For them postmodern urbanism has

several fundamental characteristics including a complex interplay between global and

local, ubiquitous social polarization, continuous reorganization and the centre being

organized by the periphery. These characteristics produced centreless urban systems

that are subject to a new spatial logic that they term keno capitalism or beginning of anew era of postmodern urbanism. 8

Similarly, Chris Philo (1992) has argued for a postmodern approach to rural

issues. He suggested that, the rural had been theorized from the perspective of

while, middle-class men using modernist narrative that prioritized the values and

understandings of dominant group in society. He recognized that the plurality of

people who make up the rural (women, children, the elderly, gays, lesbians, racial

and ethnic minorities, the unemployed and poor, Gypsies, New Age travelers,alternative lifestyle) communities have varied understandings and experiences of

living in the countryside. It again meant that there could be no universal account of

the rural (Cloke and Little, 1997). The same has been advocated by an analysis done

by Halfacree in 1993 and Milbourne, 1997. 9 S. Kirsch (1995), in his article on time

and spaces stated that in recent decades with new technologies,

telecommunications, transportation and high-speed geographies, the world is

shrinking to a global village.

8 Phil Gubbard, Rob Kitchin, Brendan Bartley & Duncan Fuller, Thinking Geographically: Space, Theory andContemporary Human Geography, 2002. pp. 76-77 9 Ibid, pp. 78-79


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E.W. Soja, in 1996 10 , recommended views of Lefebvres writings in The

Production of Space, to fuse physical (objective) and mental (subjective) space into

social space. Lefebvre opens the concept of trialectics of spatiality, which insist upon

each mode of thinking about space, each field of human spatiality- the physical, the

mental and the social- be seen as simultaneously real and imagined, concrete and

abstract, material and metaphorical. Supporting the thoughts of Lefebvre, Soja,

introduced the conception of Third space (lived space) with perceived space (spatial

practice) and conceived space (representation of space. Soja defined spatiality as

socially produced space . Soja argued that Spatiality [i.e. socially produced space] is a

substantiated and recognizable social product, part of a 'second nature' [i.e. the

transformed and socially concretized spatiality (socially produced space)] arising from

the application of purposeful human labour] which incorporates as it [i.e. sociallyproduced space] socializes and transforms both physical and psychological spaces.

Ed. Soja introduced his epistemological approach to space. He unfolded three

concerns: first and foremost, Soja made the point that space is never given . It is not

an empty box to be filled and can never be only a stage or a mere background. On the

contrary, space is always a cultural constructed entity. It is a part of the general

cultural web, and like any cultural entity space is formed and changed, accepted

or rejected. For Soja, spatiality is an essential aspect of human life and descriptions of the world. He considers three modes of spatial thinking: perceived space, conceived

space, and lived space. N one of the space has distinct lines dividing them with

each other unlike then the modernists categorized space in perceived and

conceived space. 11

Edward Soja further identifies a third aspect to spatiality itself, one beyond

more physical form or mental construct, but an alternative that incorporates and

transcends both. Soja uses the concept of third space to capture a radical newway of thinking that always posits an alternative to binary conceptions of space.

Third spaces are created by the effects of a changing culture, and are spaces of

10 Edward W. Soja, Thirdspace: Journey to Los Angeles and other Rea and Imagined Places, 1996, pp 60-68.11 http://socgeo.ruhosting.nl/html/files/geoapp/Werkstukken/PostmodernSpace . pdf


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Fig: The Trailectics of Spatiality as given by EdSoja, 1996

transition; transition between localities and over time. They elude the reflection of a

single permanent power structure and are places of simultaneity and transience. They

relate to both poles of binary conceptions of cross-cultural space and yet at the same

time entirely transcend them. More than a mental place, third spaces hold the possibility

for socio-political transformation.

The trailectics of spatiality given by Ed. Soja is as follows 12:

(i) Perceived space (Soja's first space) consists mainly of concrete spatial forms,

things that can be empirically mapped, but are also socially produced, as mediums and

outcomes of human activity, behavior, and experience. This materialized, "physical-

socially produced, empirically measurable space, is space that can be directly sensed

and is open to relatively accurate measurement and description. Perceived space is

thus apparent in the concrete and mappable geographies of our life worlds ,

ranging from the emotional and behavioral space "bubbles" which invisibly surround our

bodies, to the complex spatial organization of the social practices that shape our "action

spaces" in such contexts as households, neighborhoods, villages, cities, regions, and

nations. (Soja, 1996)

(ii) Conceived space (Soja's Second

space) is that space that is constructed in

mental or cognitive forms (or, as Lefebvre

puts it, it is "imagined"). Conceived space

is expressed in systems of "intellectually

worked out" signs and symbols, that is, in

the written and spoken word. For

Lefebvre, this is the dominant space in

any society. Located in these

"dominating" mental spaces are the

representations of power and ideology.

(iii) Lived space (Soja's Third space)

consists of actual social and spatial practices, the immediate material world of

12 Op. sit pp 74-82.


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experience and realization. Lived space overlays physical space, making symbolic

use of its objects, and tends to be expressed in systems of nonverbal symbols

and signs. For Lefebvre lived space was both distinct from physical and mental space

and an all-encompassing mode of spatial thinking, as Soja puts it, a " transcending

composite of all spaces" Lived space embodies the real and imagined world of

experiences, emotions, events, and political choices. As Soja describes it, this space is

"directly lived," the space of "inhabitants" and "users," containing all other real and

imagined spaces simultaneously. Thus, Third space is a mode of thinking about space

that draws upon both the material and the mental spaces of perceived space and

conceived space, but extends well beyond them in scope, substance, and meaning. It is

simultaneously real and imagined and more.

Based on lessons drawn from Lefebvres The production of Space and Sojas

Third Space, in an article by M. Arentsen, R. Stam & R. Thuijs, represented the

Trailectics of Spatiality in a tabular format, as given below:

Perceived Conceived LivedSpatial Practice Representations of Space Spaces of

RepresentationsFirst Space Second Space Third Space

Physical Space Mental Space Social Space

Surfaces Transparency Active ExperienceMaterialism Idealism ImaginativeVisual Geometric Pahllic

The application of spaces in urban planning was well elaborated by Leonie

Sandercock, published in her Toward Cosmopolis: Planning for Multicultural Cities, in

1998. She came up with a vision of postmodern utopia and favoured an inclusive,

people-centered style of planning that emphasizes practical wisdom, multiculturalism

and community empowerment. 13

Nigel Thrift (2003), in his article on Space: The Fundamental Stuff of Human

Geography stated that in modern geography, through standardization of space, it has

been made possible that each and every object and activity taking place on the globe

13 Michael J. Dear, The Postmodern Turn, in Claudio Minca(Ed), Postmodern Geography: Theory and Praxis,2001. pp 23-24.


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will, at least in principle, be exactly located. He emphasized that, we live in the world of

perpetual contract, in which it will be possible to track and trace most objects and

activities on continuous basis, constantly, adjusting time and space in real time, so

producing what now a days called as micro or hyper-coordination. He stated that space

arises out of the hard and continuous work of building up and maintaining collectives by

bringing different things into alignment. All kinds of different spaces can and therefore

do exist which may or may not be related to each other. In 2009, Thrift identified four

spaces- empirical, flow, image and place. Empirical space refers to the process

whereby the mundane fabric of daily life is constructed. Flow space refers to the

process whereby routine pathways around which boundaries are often drawn. Image

space refers to the process whereby the proliferation of images has produced new

apprehensions of space. Fourth and final kind of space i.e. place space which refers tothe process whereby space are ordered in ways that open up affective and other

embodied potentials. 14

4. Conclusion

The re-emergence of concept to space was started in the period of 1980s due to

introduction of the postmodernism era in Geography. The postmodernist approach

altered the views made by Geographers like Hartshorne, David Harvey and Peter

Hagget, who brought concepts, theories, models and quantitative revolution in

Geography. Their contribution produced universal concepts and defined space as a

physical and cultural entity, which can be represented through point, lines and areal

diagrams. Several theories, models and quantitative techniques were evolved to

analyse space. The Geographers of postmodern era, like Lefebvre, E.W. Soja and

Michael Dear etc. argued that there is no universal truth, which can be applicable on

space. They advocated on socially produced spaces and inferred that spaces are not

14 Nichol J. Chifford, Sarah Holloway, Stephen P Rice, Gill Valentine (Eds.), Key Concepts in Geography ,(2009) .


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only real and conceived but are also influenced by third space, which is termed as lived

space. Lived space overlays both the real and imagined space and influenced by

ideologies, local politics and policies of the users. In 2003, Nigel Thrift, introduced

fourth space i.e. place space which is described by meanings place as location, the role

of place in individual and group identity and a setting and scale peoples daily actions

and interactions.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

Casino, V.D. & Casino, V.J. D, Social Geography: A Critical Introduction toGeography, (2009), Wiley-Blackwell Publications.

Clifford, N.J., Holloway, S.L., Rice, S.P. and Valentine, G. (Eds.), Key Concepts inGeography , (2009), Sage Publications. London.

Dear, M.J. and Flusty(Eds), The Spaces of Postmodernity-Readings in HumanGeography , (2002), Blackwell Publichers Ltd.,

Eflin, J, Reviewed work(s): Postmodern Geographies: The reassertion of Space inCritical Social Theory by Edward W. Soja , in Geographical Review, Vol, NO. 4(1990), pp. 448-450.

Harvey, D., Explanation in Geography , (1969), Edward Arnold, London.

Knox, P and S. Marston, Places and Regions in Global Context: HumanGeography , (2004), Pearson Education Inc., New Jersey.

Minca, C. Ed, Postmodern Geography Theory and Praxis , (2001), BlackwellPublihers Inc., USA.

Soja, E.W., Third space- Journeys to Los Angeles and other Real-and-Imagined Places , (1996), Blackwell Publishers Inc., USA.

Soja, E.W. Postmodern Geographies: The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory .(1989), Verso Press, New York.

Articles:

Abumere,I., The Geography of Modernization: Some Unresolved Issues , inGeoJournal, (1981), pp 67-76.

Dear, M and Wassmansdorf, G., Postmodern Consequences , in the GeographicalReview, Vol. 83, (1993), American Geographers Association.

Ferrier, J.P, Post-Modern Geography or Geography of the Third Modernity , inGeoJournal, (Nov. 1993), Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 251-253.


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Mazur, E. and Urbanek, J, Space in Geography in Geo Journal, (1983), Kluwer Academic Publishers , pp. 139-143.

Articles on Websites:

Arentsen, M., Stam, R., Thuijs,R., Postmodern Approaches to Space ,http://socgeo.ruhosting.nl/html/files/geoapp/Werkstukken/PostmodernSpace.pdf

Dear, M., Wassmansdorf, G., Postmodern Concequencies , in The Geographicalreview, Vol. 83, 1993, http://www.questia.com

Kirsch S, " The Incredible Shrinking world? Technology and the Production of Space " (1995), Environment and Planning D: Society and Space.http://www.envplan.com/D.html

Schumacher,P., Sojas Postmodern Geographies- a Political Reading , (1996), http://www.patrikschumacher.com/Texts/soja.htm

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re-emergenct of concept of spacegarimaaggarwal

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