Material Geographies: A World in the Making

Is the current form of globalization inevitable? Material Geographies shows that the present form of globalization has been actively ′made′ by corporations, governments and international agencies, as well as through the combined efforts of many smaller actors. It discusses:

o themes - including economy, environment, politics, mobility, technology

o actors - human and non-human forces, from biodiversity to climate

o spaces - the key concepts of territory and flow

o responsibilities - our relations with people and other living things.

Taking a range of different perspectives - from financial institutions to nation states, global migration to local identity - this is a vivid exposition of how globalization works at different scales. Unique in teaching literature with its focus on the non-human, it demonstrates how globalization can be understood geographically.

Nigel Clark is Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the Open University