Abstract
The Question of Space follows in current geographical interests in the inter-disciplinary, as well as in the nonrepresentational, affective dimensions of lived experiences. Unexpectedly, given that this is not the book’s primary intention, it also engages with wider academic concerns over the hegemony of knowledge within academia and the need for research to communicate with the public.
The book’s main aim, as stated in its subtitle, is about ‘interrogating the spatial turn within disciplines’. Taking inspiration from Deleuze, Lefebre, Ingold, and even Freud, contributing authors examine the myriad ways in which space and the lived experience intertwine in areas traditionally outside geography’s ambit, like performance (Moyo), sound (Revill), literature (Ghraowi) and film (Conway), and those within, like territory (Nieuwenhuis). The variety and accessibility of subject matters contained within this book inevitably prompts one to consider the geography in that which surrounds us and the ways in which space is brought into being relationally and performatively by human and non-human actors.
Particularly laudable is this book’s engagement with non-‘Western’ 1 contexts. Atsuko Wantanabe’s chapter stands out in turning to Japanese philosophy to explain ‘place’ and ‘space’, going beyond merely transplanting ‘Western’ theories elsewhere to engaging more thoroughly with ‘an intellectual tradition other than the West’ (p. 97). He shows that this does not involve a disavowal of ‘Western’ knowledge (indeed, this is not possible as most of us have been educated within and continue to work within an Anglo-centric framework). Rather, he considers the way Japanese philosophy has been shaped by ‘Western’ thinking. The inclusion of this chapter, as well as others on South African performance (Moyo), Palestinian literature (Ghraowi), and bell hooks’ spatial experiences (Zivkovic) within the constraints of the book’s 10 chapters is encouraging given the authors’ observation that ‘[s]pace is relational, subjective and personal’ (p. x), and therefore diverse.
While the content of the book remains academic, some chapters experiment with their style of writing. Gren’s letter from Earth and Conway’s short ‘scenes’ draw our attention to how they are written, on top of what is written. Crouch’s section on allotment gardening and art uses extensive quotes, while Moyo turns to an anecdote to get the reader’s attention. In doing so, they appeal to the readers’ emotions – aptly, given the book’s focus on lived experiences. Indeed, it prompts reflection on how best to communicate research with the public or teach it to new learners, since concepts like performativity and affect can be rather abstract.
At the end of the book, one is left with a better conception of the multifarious nature of space. However, given its embrace of such a diverse range of subject matters and the authors’ own observation that ‘[s]pace performs as a category of knowledge in all our work’ (p. ix), one question remains: If everything is spatial, then where does geography start and end?
