Approaching Human Geography: An Introduction To Contemporary Theoretical Debates

Cloke, Paul J; Philo, Christopher Philo; Sadler, David

ISBN 10: 1853961000 / ISBN 13: 9781853961007

Published by SAGE Publications Ltd, 2013

About this Item

Trade pbk.; unmarked; no bent or torn pp.; cover and spine, fine.

Seller Inventory # C4-LLB9-FZ4C

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Approaching Human Geography: An Introduction To Contemporary Theoretical Debates
• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1853961000
• ISBN 13: 9781853961007
• Binding: Print on Demand (Paperback)
• Condition: Like New

About this title

Synopsis

This introduction to the development of new theoretical approaches to human geography sets out to explain the key features of these new approaches, and to trace their antecedents and implications. The authors also highlight points of comparison and contrast, inter-connection and dissimilarity.

An introductory chapter describes and accounts for the theoretical diversity present within twentieth-century human geography, and particular attention is paid to the transition from environmental and regional approaches to the "spatial science" of the 1960s. This chapter then sets the stage for the later chapters, which deal systematically with different post-1960s approaches: Marxism, humanism, realism, structuration and postmodernism. Each of these chapters deals with the chronological development of the appropriate literature, describes the key claims and arguments, and then presents a worked example to illustrate the benefits and pitfalls of an approach in practice. A concluding chapter re-integrates the diverse themes and reflects briefly on possible future theoretical developments in human geography in the 1990s.

The principal chapters of the book are framed by both a preface and an epilogue, which address questions about ′relativism′ in approaching human geography, while also stressing the need for continued commitment and critical sensitivity in geographical enquiry. The book is written in an easily accessible style with generous expositions of key claims and arguments, and thorough cross-referencing between chapters.

About the Author

Chris Philo is a professor of geography at the University of Glasgow. His specialist interest is the historical geography of “spaces reserved for insanity,” meaning people with mental health problems, across many centuries in Britain. He is fascinated by the history and theory of geography, as both academic subject and wider way of engaging with the world. He has undertaken critical-scholarly research on the geographies of “outsider” human groupings, including children and people with learning disabilities, as well as on the geographies of human-animal relations, rural geographies, and a range of health geographies. He has long been concerned with what psychoanalytic and psychological approaches can bring to geographical studies.