Society, Action and Space

by Benno Werlen

Overview

This is the first English translation of a book which has been widely recognized in Europe as a major contribution to the interface between geography and social theory. Ambitious, crackling with original ideas and persuasively argued, it raises exciting new implications for the study of space and social theory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134913954
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/02/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Benno Werlen lectures in Geography at the University of Zurich.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Space and causality, or Whatever happened to the subject?; Chapter 2 The objective perspective; Chapter 3 The subjective standpoint; Chapter 4 An epistemological synthesis; Chapter 5 Social theories of action; Chapter 6 Geographical space and society; Chapter 7 The space of social theory; Chapter 8 The space of social action; Conclusions;

Editorial Reviews

This translation (by Gayna Walls) of the influential 1988 German work, Gesellschaft, Handlung und Raum (Franz Steiner, Stuttgart), contains a new author's foreword and a new preface. The study concerns the interface between geography and social theory; the main theme is an attack on the primacy of the spatial in geographical theory--action is shown as the central unit of analysis--and the implications of this reorientation. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

'... constructed from in-depth and scholarly discussions of eminent sources: Popper, Schutz, Pareto, Weber ...' - Environment and Planning

'... argues persuasively that the central object of social geography is action and not space.' - Environment and Planning

'The author, evidently, has a huge axe to grind.' - Times Higher Educational Supplement

From the Publisher