The Cultural Geography Reader
9780415418737_1_pre.qxd 28/1/08 3:36 PM Page i THE CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY READER There has been a rising interest in cultural geography as an academic discipline, with the so-called “cultural turn” in geography and social science more generally. To date, there has been no generally accessible, transatlantic overview that balances classic and contemporary writings in cultural geography and related fields. The Cultural Geography Reader draws together fifty-two classic and contemporary abridged readings, including contributions from Clifford Geertz, Doreen Massey, Peter Jackson, Alan Latham, J.B. Jackson, Gillian Rose, Clarence J. Glacken, Alexander Wilson, Liisa Malkki, Georg Simmel, Robyn Longhurst, Don Mitchell, Gill Valentine, and Lila Abu-Lughod. It is divided into eight parts – Approaching Culture; Cultural Geography: a Transatlantic Genealogy; Landscape; Nature; Identity and Place in a Global Context; Home and Away; Difference; Culture as Resource – that the editors feel represent the scope of the discipline and its key concepts. Readings were selected based on their originality, accessibility, and empirical focus, allowing students to grasp the conceptual and theoretical tools of cultural geography through the grounded research of leading scholars in the field. Each part begins with an introduction that discusses the key concepts, their history and relation to cultural geography, and connections to other disciplines and practices. Six to seven abridged book chapters and journal articles, each with their own focused intro- ductions, are also included in each part. The readability, broad scope, and coverage of both classic and contemporary pieces from the US and UK make The Cultural Geography Reader relevant and accessible for a broad audience of under- graduate students and graduate students alike.
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