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Key Thinkers on Space and Place
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Key Thinkers on Space and Place

Second Edition
Edited by:
  • Phil Hubbard - Kings College, London, UK, Loughborough University, UK, University of Kent, UK
  • Rob Kitchin - Maynooth University, Ireland


November 2010 | 528 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd

In this latest edition of Key Thinkers on Space and Place, editors Phil Hubbard and Rob Kitchin provide us with a fully revised and updated text that highlights the work of over 65 key thinkers on space and place. Unique in its concept, the book is a comprehensive guide to the life and work of some of the key thinkers particularly influential in the current 'spatial turn' in the social sciences.

Providing a synoptic overview of different ideas about the role of space and place in contemporary social, cultural, political and economic life, each portrait comprises:

  • Biographical information and theoretical context.
  • An explication of their contribution to spatial thinking.
  • An overview of key advances and controversie.
  • Guidance on further reading.

With 14 additional chapters including entries on Saskia Sassen, Tim Ingold, Cindi Katz and John Urry, the book covers ideas ranging from humanism, Marxism, feminism and post-structuralism to queer-theory, post-colonialism, globalization and deconstruction, presenting a thorough look at diverse ways in which space and place has been theorized.

An essential text for geographers, this now classic reference text is for all those interested in theories of space and place, whether in geography, sociology, cultural studies, urban studies, planning, anthropology, or women's studies.

Phil Hubbard and Rob Kitchin
Preface to the Second Edition
Phil Hubbard and Rob Kitchin
Introduction: Why Key Thinkers?
Euan Hague
Benedict Anderson
Peter Merriman
Mark Augé
Suzanne Reimer
Trevor Barnes
David B Clarke and Marcus A Doel
Jean Baudrillard
David B Clarke and Marcus A Doel
Zygmunt Bauman
Lewis Holloway
Ulrich Beck
Gordon L Clark
Brian Berry
Constantina Papoulias
Homi K Bhabha
Gary Bridge
Pierre Bourdieu
Minelle Mahtani
Judith Butler
Tom Mels
Anne Buttimer
Phil Hubbard
Manuel Castells
Mike Crang
Michel de Certeau
Simon Batterbury
Stuart E Corbridge
Keith Lilley
Denis Cosgrove
Donald McNeill
Mike Davis
Donald McNeill and Mark Tewdwr-Jones
Michael Dear
Marcus A Doel and David B Clarke
Gilles Deleuze
Jonathan A Beaverstock
Peter Dicken
Simon Batterbury and Jude L Fernando
Arturo Escobar
Chris Philo
Michel Foucault
Wendy Larner
J K Gibson-Graham
Barney Warf
Anthony Giddens
Rob Kitchin
Reginald Golledge
Barney Warf
Derek Gregory
Robin Flowerdew
Torsten Hagerstrand
Robin Flowerdew
Peter Haggett
Don Mitchell
Stuart Hall
Lewis Holloway
Donna Haraway
Keith Lilley
J Brian Harley
Noel Castree
David Harvey
Katherine McKittrick
bell hooks
Hayden Lorimer
Tim Ingold
Don Mitchell
Peter Jackson
Tracey Skelton
Cindi Katz
Eric Laurier
Bruno Latour
Rob Shields
Henri Lefebvre
Paul Rodaway
David Ley
John R Gold
Kevin Lynch
Felicity Callard
Doreen Massey
Sarah Hall
Linda McDowell
Rhys Jones
Anssi Paasi
Alan Latham
Allan Pred
Minelle Mahtani
Gillian Rose
Karen M Morin
Edward W Said
James Faulconbridge
Saskia Sassen
Andy C Pratt
Andrew Sayer
Simon Batterbury and Jude L Fernando
Amartya Sen
Minelle Mahtani
David Sibley
Noel Castree
Neil Smith
Alan Latham
Edward J Soja
Robina Mohammad and James D Sidaway
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
Suzanne Reimer
Michael Storper
Jim Glassman
Peter Taylor
Barney Warf
Nigel Thrift
Euan Hague
Gerard Toal
Robin Flowerdew
Waldo Tobler
Paul Rodaway
Yi-Fu Tuan
Peter Adey
John Urry
David B Clarke and Marcus A Doel
Paul Virilio
Jim Glassman
Immanuel Wallerstein
Thomas Perreault
Michael J Watts
Roland Lippuner
Benno Werlen
Don Mitchell and Carrie Breitbach
Raymond Williams
Graham Clarke
Alan Wilson
Felicity Callard
Iris Marion Young
 
Glossary

The best encyclopaedic tool for human geographers since the Dictionary of Human Geography. It is hugely useful for students who want an easy way to access the roots of the major themes and debates in contemporary geography
Stuart Aitken
San Diego State University


Space is now at the forefront of the social sciences and humanities. This compendium sets out the twists and turns of the thinkers who brought us to this place. In doing so, it sets out an effervescent intellectual landscape. Invaluable

Professor Nigel Thrift
Vice-Chancellor, University of Warwick


A most welcome and expanded version of the original Key Thinkers, this work more than any other guides readers through the complex theoretical landscape of space and place. An outstanding volume that articulates, through analyses of the visionary writings of some of the most important theorists in and beyond geography, the migrations of thought produced around our most important objects of analysis. The contributors excel in this effort
Professor John-Paul Jones III
University of Arizona, USA


The second edition of Key Thinkers on Space and Place sharpens and refines its project. Written in highly accessible language, the book will be a dependable source of inspiration and reflection to anyone with an interest in space and place as knowledge categories
Professor Richard Le Heron
University of Auckland, New Zealand


This is a helpfully updated version of an already well-researched and accessibly written text. As with the first edition, this version is invaluable for anyone seeking to understand the life and work of key thinkers who have shaped the "spatial turn" in the social sciences. It recognizes the contributions of those from all the major intellectual traditions from positivism to post-structuralism, and from a variety of disciplines, from geographers, anthropologists, economists, philosophers and more. And it consciously acknowledges intellectual traditions beyond the Anglo-American academy
Lily Kong
Professor of Geography, National University of Singapore


An accessible, authoritative and comprehensive introduction to the individuals who have shaped contemporary geographical thought. The book covers an impressive and thought-provoking selection of thinkers and writers, representing a variety of traditions and approaches. Each of the sixty-six entries provides a lively summary of the subject's life and work, and an expert critical analysis of their contribution to spatial theory. Key Thinkers on Space and Place is an invaluable reference resource for students of Human Geography and anyone interested in the development of spatial theory
Professor Michael Woods
Aberyswyth University


"Key Thinkers on Space and Place" is an excellent text for a prompt and precise overview of the most important themes of the city and contemporary architecture. Although Zevi is missing, it remains a fundamental text for the analysis of architecture and the contemporary built environment, the contributions on scholars of postmodern geography and post-structuralism, in general, are well articulated, with an excellent essential bibliography and interesting food for thought. A fundamental text to understand the relationship between community, society, space and city.

Dr Marco Spada
School of Arts and Humanities, University of Suffolk
February 26, 2020

I believe this book is a key resource for any subject dealing with the concepts of space and place. It highlights the key thinkers on these topics, and gives a very clear synopsis of each along with additional resources to follow up on. Definitely a book to add to your collection.

Mr Barend Petrus Slabbert
School of Arts and Humanities, Derby University
February 23, 2018

This is an excellent reference text and primer, but it has also inspired my work in surprising ways. For instance, the other day, while writing a draft for an article, I needed to clarify my understanding of a theorist. Not only was I able to do that with this text, I was also able to flip around in the book (using the index) to learn of other theorists and work that I was unfamiliar with. Each entry contextualises the theorists in terms of socio-historical context. The entries also articulate the main theoretical contributions to the field, as well as main texts to read. Highly recommend.

Ms BRITTANY AMELL
School of Linguistics and Language Studies, Carleton University
October 8, 2017

Very good collection of texts on key thinkers on space and place, makes it a very useful supplementary source for my introductory module on urban identities.

Dr Anna Pechurina
School of Social, Psychological & Comm, Leeds Beckett University
August 8, 2016

A good text. Would be a good supplement to current core reading for the unit.

Mr Neil Cliff
Dept of Interdisciplinary Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University
July 6, 2015

This is a useful theoretical text for backing up practical work and offers exciting ways of framing new geographies.

Dr Jennifer Patterson
School of Education, Greenwich University
May 19, 2015

great book for BA- students.

Miss Mathilde Christensen
Environmental, Social & Spatial Change, University of Roskilde
May 1, 2015

A broad range of contributors, some chapters more accessible and relevant than others.

Ms Anna Hawkins
Urban Studies , Sheffield Hallam University
February 12, 2015

A unique book to discover the roles of prominent figures in geography.

Dr Erdem Bekaroglu
Geography, Ankara University
December 11, 2014

Fully revised and updated, this new edition includes 14 additional chapters including entries on Saskia Sassen, Tim Ingold,
Cindi Katz and John Urry.

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ISBN: 9781849201025
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