Area (1999) 31.3, 195-1 98 Research, action and ‘critical’ geographies R M Kitchin” and P J Hubbardt *Department of Geography, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Email:
[email protected]. tDepartment of Geography, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU. Email:
[email protected] In the 199Os, the notion of ‘doing’ critical geogra- teaching and writing. Given the current espousal of phies has become one of the central themes infusing ’critical’ geography as a form of geographical prac- human geographic study. Eschewing the strictures tice that is politically and socially aware, it might be of radical Marxist approaches (which principally considered surprising that the interface between focused on the forms of oppression and inequality academia and activism has been little explored in the wrought by capitalist process), critical geography geographic literature (for exceptions, see Routledge has consequently sought to examine the diverse 1996; Chouinard 1997; forthcoming Kitchin 1999). sociospatial processes that regulate and reproduce Indeed, the absence of critical reflection on the social exclusion. The lens of critical geographers has merits and limitations of action-led or participatory thus widened from a narrow focus on capital-labour research indicates that such efforts remain few and relations to encompass broader processes of social far between. As such, it appears that many social disadvantage and marginalization as they affect and cultural geographers are happy to survey (and women, ethnic minorities, sexual dissidents, disabled ‘map’) the exclusionary landscape, but rarely do people and so on. Simultaneously, this ’critical much to change that landscape apart from the agenda’ has been accompanied by a heightened occasional token nod to ‘planning and policy concern that the geographer’s research on social recommendations’.