SG - Latest Articles

Families and food: beyond the "cultural turn"?

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0200

Families and food: beyond the "cultural turn"?

Social Geography, 6, 63-71, 2011

Author(s): P. Jackson

This paper provides some personal reflections on the ''cultural turn'' in human geography including a tentative chronology of events. It outlines some of the characteristics of the ''cultural turn'' and some of the criticisms that have been levelled against it. In the body of the paper, I attempt to assess the value of the ''cultural turn'', conceptually and methodologically, as applied to two recent research projects on the geography of food and families. The paper concludes that the ''cultural turn'' greatly enriched the study of human geography through its analysis of discourse, representation and practice. But other approaches are required to explain broader changes in political-economy and the materiality of nature. While the ''cultural turn'' contributed to our understanding of materiality and our place in a more-than-human world, geographers are now also embracing other approaches such as those informed by actor-network theory and geographies of emotion, embodiment and affect. The paper concludes with an agenda for future research on the political and moral economies of food, focusing on contemporary consumer anxieties at a range of geographical scales.

Vollzug und Sprache Physischer Geographie und die Frage geographischen Takts

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0200

Vollzug und Sprache Physischer Geographie und die Frage geographischen Takts

Social Geography, 6, 47-61, 2011

Author(s): B. Zahnen

Der Aufsatz versteht sich als ein Beitrag zu der sozial- oder kulturwissenschaftlichen Diskussion der Humangeographie um die Möglichkeit der Einbeziehung einer Dimension der Natur bzw. der „Materialität“, zugleich aber auch als ein theoretischer Entwurf einer „Physischen Geographie im starken Sinne“, die nicht mehr in dichotomer Entgegensetzung zur Humangeographie zu verstehen ist und die Möglichkeit bietet, genuin geographische Prozesse und Seinsweisen als solche zu verstehen.

Ausgehend davon, dass es Physische Geographen bzw. Geowissenschaftler gibt, die ihr Tun als „Gespräch mit der Erde“ bezeichnen, deckt der Aufsatz zum einen auf, inwiefern dieses Tun aufgrund einer grundlegenden Ebene, die sich aus dem Prozess der eigenen Erfahrung übergänglicher Naturgebilde der Erde ergibt, als etwas qualifiziert werden kann, das eine gewisse Form „doppelter Hermeneutik“ involviert. Zum anderen wird gezeigt, dass aufgrund dieser grundlegenden Ebene die Möglichkeit des revidierten Verständnisses von Physischer Geographie – also der „Physischen Geographie im starken Sinne“ – in dem derzeitigen physisch-geographischen Tun eines naturwissenschaftlichen Selbstverständnisses bereits angelegt ist. Ferner wird deutlich, dass sich in diesem Zuge neue Zugangsmöglichkeiten zur Geschichte des Fachs ergeben. In diesem Sinne wird die alte Idee eines „geographischen Takts“ neu beleuchtet und entfaltet.

Abstract. The paper can be understood as a contribution to the discussion about how to involve "nature" or "materiality" in the undertakings of social or cultural scientists or human geographers, but at the same time as a theoretical conception of "physical geography in a strong sense" which can no longer be understood as being in dichotomic opposition to human geography and makes it possible to understand genuinely geographical processes and qualities [Seinsweisen] as such.

Taking as a starting point the fact that there are physical geographers and earth scientists who characterise their doing as a "conversation with the earth", the paper reveals in which way it is appropriate to qualify this doing as involving a kind of "double hermeneutics": namely due to a foundational layer which arises from the process of experiencing transitional formations of the natural appearances of the earth. The paper also shows that due to this foundational layer, the chance of a revised understanding of physical geography – i.e. of "physical geography in the strong sense" – is already inherent in current physical geography as a natural science. Moreover, the paper shows that its insights open up new ways to understand pivotal traits of the history of geography. In this sense, the old idea of a "geographical tact" is illuminated and unfolded in a new way.

Participative environmental management and social capital in Poland

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0200

Participative environmental management and social capital in Poland

Social Geography, 6, 39-45, 2011

Author(s): A. Hunka and W. T. de Groot

Eastern European countries, such as Poland, often illustrate social capital studies. Upon entering the European Union, social capital in Poland was seen as a problem in implementing new regulations, particularly in the field of environmental policy. Equally important, environmental issues often present a high degree of complexity – and European legislation requires multi-stakeholder involvement in decision-making processes. Thus, the dilemma: on the one hand, there is a demand to engage and consult many actors; on the other hand, the actors function in administrative culture with a ubiquitous top-down approach taken by institutional decision makers.

This paper attempts to address the problem from the perspective of social capital theory. An overview of administrative culture and examples of decision-making processes shows the way decisions are currently made. We also propose a way to achieve more participative environmental management.

Reflections on "doing" cultural geography – "being" a cultural geographer in the Netherlands

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Reflections on "doing" cultural geography – "being" a cultural geographer in the Netherlands

Social Geography, 6, 29-37, 2011

Author(s): B. van Hoven

In this article, I explore Dutch social geography in the context of "the cultural turn". In so doing, I extensively draw on writing from the Anglo-American context which somewhat complicates the matter. Barnett (1998) implied that the "cultural turn" is not a "coherent and singular process" (379) which will emerge from my reflections as well. But even though the disciplines have undergone different ways of becoming, Dutch geographies are, formally, valued and assessed by procedures that have developed alongside, if not as a part of, the cultural turn(s) in the United Kingdom. In the Netherlands, different Departments have been a part of (or apart from) the cultural turn in different ways. In this article, I draw on some of the similarities and differences but will focus to a large extent on my own institutional context at the University of Groningen.

Erzählter Raum und Erzählraum: (Kultur)Raumkonstruktion zwischen Diskurs und Performanz

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Erzählter Raum und Erzählraum: (Kultur)Raumkonstruktion zwischen Diskurs und Performanz

Social Geography, 6, 15-27, 2011

Author(s): A. Harendt and D. Sprunk

Ziel des Aufsatzes ist es, die mediale Erzeugung geographischer Wirklichkeiten durch so genannte Weltenkenner im Sinne einer Geographie der Medien zu untersuchen. Es gilt die Frage zu beantworten, mit welchen Zuschreibungen ausgewählte Weltenkenner territoriale Raumausschnitte belegen und welche raumbezogenen Gegenwartsdiagnosen von ihnen gegeben werden. Weiterhin sind die Gründe für ihre Autorität und Popularität zu klären. Über zwei theoretische Zugänge – Diskurs einerseits und Performanz andererseits – wird sich der raumbezogenen Deutungs- und Sinnstiftungsarbeit deutschsprachiger Weltenkenner angenähert. Die theoretische Verbindung der verbalen Diskurs- und Argumentebene mit der bild- und körperbezogenen Performanzebene kombiniert sprachliche und nicht-sprachliche Weisen der Welterzeugung. Beide, so unsere These, sind konstitutiv für eine Analyse der Weltenkenner und ihrer Wirklichkeitskonstruktionen. Für das Zusammendenken der beiden Ebenen schlagen wir die Konzepte des Erzählten Raumes und Erzählraums vor.

Abstract. The aim of the article is to analyze the construction of geographical realities in the media by so called world "insiders". Which attributes do the world insiders ascribe to spatial territories and which dia- and prognoses of the contemporary world do they offer? In addition, the question has to be raised as to why their interpretations are so appealing and popular. Two theoretical approaches – discourse and performance/performativity – form the framework of the analysis. The theoretical link between the discursive and argumentative level on the one hand and the performative level on the other hand combines verbal and non-verbal geography-making. Our claim is that both levels are essential for an analysis of the world insiders and their ways of world construction. To integrate these two levels we suggest the concepts of Narrative space and Narrated space.

Der Konstruktivismus lernt laufen: „Doing more-than-representational geography“

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Der Konstruktivismus lernt laufen: „Doing more-than-representational geography“

Social Geography, 6, 1-13, 2011

Author(s): A. Strüver

Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit verkörperten Subjekten als „laufenden“ Themen einer Sozial- und Kulturgeographie nach dem Cultural Turn, die die Errungenschaft der so genannten „Neuen Kulturgeographie“ radikalisiert, um dadurch den Repräsentationsbegriff um performative Praktiken sowie deren materialisierte Verkörperungen zu erweitern. Anhand der „Versportung“ von städtischen Alltagsräumen geht es dabei insbesondere um das ko-konstitutive Wechselverhältnis von verkörperten Subjekten und sozialräumlichen Verhältnissen mithilfe von Subjektkonzeptionen im Anschluss an Foucault und Butler. In Kombination mit dem interaktionistischen Subjekt- und Praxisverständnis der Mikrosoziologie wird schließlich die gesellschaftliche Raumproduktion vom Subjekt her gedacht – einem Subjekt, das sowohl konstituiert durch als auch Konstituens von Gesellschafts- und Raumstrukturen ist.

Abstract. This contribution concentrates on embodied subjects as "on-going" topics of a social and cultural geography after and beyond the cultural turn – a geography that radicalises the achievements of the so called "new cultural geography" by way of extending the concept of representations in order to focus on performative practices, materialities and embodiments.

Taking the "sportification" of urban everyday spaces as example, it elaborates on the co-constitutive interrelations between embodied subjects and sociospatial conditions with reference to Foucault's and Butler's conceptions of the subject. Eventually, these conceptions are combined with a rather micro-sociological and interactive notion of subjects and practices ("doings"), aiming at an understanding of the social production of space that gives special attention to the subject – a subject that is both constituted by and constitutive of social and spatial structures.

Déjà-vu: tourist practices of repeat visitors in the city of Paris

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Déjà-vu: tourist practices of repeat visitors in the city of Paris

Social Geography, 5, 49-58, 2010

Author(s): T. Freytag

In the context of sustained growth in European city tourism, competing travel destinations develop marketing strategies that include measures to attract an increasing number of repeat visitors. This paper explores the case of Paris in order to provide a better understanding of the specific motivations, interests and activities of leisure tourists who had previously stayed in the capital of France. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's concept of "distinction" it is argued that repeat visitors tend to differentiate themselves from other tourists. On the basis of substantive field work in Paris, a set of repeat visitor practices is presented that include strategies to avoid spatial concentrations of major tourist spots in order to participate in Parisian everyday life. Moreover, it is suggested to conceptualize the encounters between repeat visitors and tourism destinations as a lifelong relationship, which can be renewed and reproduced through further visits and virtual encounters. The distinct characteristics of repeat visitor practices have substantial implications for the organization of tourism in the city and the relationships between first-time tourists, repeat visitors and the local population.

Intercultural interaction and "situational places": a perspective for urban cultural geography within and beyond the performative turn

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Intercultural interaction and "situational places": a perspective for urban cultural geography within and beyond the performative turn

Social Geography, 5, 39-48, 2010

Author(s): P. Dirksmeier and I. Helbrecht

With the performative turn in social sciences and the humanities the concept of performance has arrived in human geography. Performance denotes an understanding of social actions and practices as constitutive for non-representational realities. This paper looks at the relationship between places and performance especially in urban geography and develops the new term "situational place" to grasp the increasing phenomenon of (intercultural) encounters in the cities of modern world society. "Situational places" are situated performances of these (intercultural) interactions between strangers in cities of the contemporary world society. With the aid of performance theory the influence of the omnipresent interactions between strangers in cities on urban space is conceptualized. Therewith, we hope to present some fruitful theoretical and empirical possibilities for a cultural urban geography within and beyond the performative turn.

Playing at the edges: use of playground spaces in South Australian primary schools with new arrivals programmes

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Playing at the edges: use of playground spaces in South Australian primary schools with new arrivals programmes

Social Geography, 5, 25-37, 2010

Author(s): C. Due and D W. Riggs

Resettlement in Australia can be a stressful experience for migrants who are largely expected to quickly assimilate into the broader Australian culture. This expectation is heightened for those people who arrive as refugees, and particularly those who arrive without humanitarian visas and must endure mandatory detention. For both migrants and refugees, attempts at establishing themselves or developing a sense of belonging to their new community are likely significantly hindered by the welcome (or otherwise) they are provided with and the terms upon which inclusion is offered. This paper uses a multi-method approach to examine how these issues of belonging and inclusion played out in the use of space in two South Australian primary schools that include a programme (NAP) for new arrived students. The paper considers the way in which NAP and non-NAP students utilise playground spaces, and compares and contrasts these observations with the views of teachers at the schools. Specifically, the findings indicate that NAP students were largely relegated to the margins of the playground and experienced difficulty in claiming school spaces as their own. The paper concludes by making suggestions for schools on the basis of the findings, with a focus upon examining the power relations that exist between NAP and non-NAP students and the role of schools in developing a global understanding of inclusion and exclusion.

Buchrezension "Konstruktion europäischer Identitäten in räumlich-politischen Konflikten"

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Buchrezension "Konstruktion europäischer Identitäten in räumlich-politischen Konflikten"

Social Geography, 5, 21-23, 2010

Author(s): T. Federwisch