Postmodern Geographies: The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory

For a long time, "space" in social sciences remained overshadowed by historicism. While thinkers always focused on the historical and processes, viewing space as artificial, empirical, and contrary to dialectics, geographers also remained stuck in their own discipline. In Postmodern Geographies, Edward W. Soja examines the process of space re-emerging in critical theory, presenting the discussions within this process. Soja, who analyzes the perspectives of many twentieth-century thinkers—from Foucault and Lefebvre to Giddens and Castells—on geography and urban planning, focuses on the geographical aspect of the postmodern era. He provides a comprehensive critique of approaches that absolutize history and push geography into the background, thereby equipping critical social theory with the capacity to encompass space.

In this work, which transcends the boundaries of the discipline of geography, Soja not only scrutinizes the shortcomings of Marxist geographers regarding space but also lays the foundations for his own dialectical thought, which focuses on social space. This book is for those who ponder how the relationship between space and time can deepen urban theory and what kinds of perspectives it can offer in the struggle for the city.

(From the Promotional Bulletin)