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Essential Reading in Spatial Theory
By an Amazon.com customer
The Fate of Place: A Philosophical History (Centennial Books)The Fate of Place: A Philosophical History (Centennial Books) by Edward Casey
Buy new: $23.18 / Used from: $16.25
Casey's book has chapters on nearly all the major philosophical approaches to "place." It is a bit overwhelming, but it is an essential reference source for the harder spatial thinkers (like Heidegger).
Space and Place: The Perspective of ExperienceSpace and Place: The Perspective of Experience by Yi-Fu Tuan
Buy new: $11.27 / Used from: $12.00
A practical approach to Space and Place that emphasizes psychology (e.g. experience) to suggest that our bodily familiarity with space turns them into places. This shift is what makes places meaningful for/to us.
The Production of SpaceThe Production of Space by Henri Lefebvre
Buy new: $39.80 / Used from: $29.01
This book demands careful attention, but it also requires extensive knowledge of Marxist theories. This is NOT a beginner's text, and even for experts the language is a challenge.
The Poetics of SpaceThe Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard
Buy new: $10.40 / Used from: $8.15
Another psychological approach like Tuan's. This time, however, the focus is on specific spaces that seem to be determinative for our spatial configurations--particularly the home as we experience it in childhood.
Space, Place, and GenderSpace, Place, and Gender by Doreen Massey
Buy new: $18.00 / Used from: $23.50
One of the few works that explicitly addresses gender while staying in the circles of conversation that include Lefebvre, Soja, and Harvey.
The Practice of Everyday LifeThe Practice of Everyday Life by Michel de Certeau
Buy new: $14.93 / Used from: $13.94
Together with Foucault's "Discipline and Punish," Certeau's work stands as an essential mapping of the role of power in lives.
Postmodern Geographies: The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social TheoryPostmodern Geographies: The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory by Edward W. Soja
Buy new: $17.95 / Used from: $10.79
Marx, Marx, more Marx. Soja really, really hates Los Angeles. If you think that LA is a cesspool, Soja is your guy for the high-brow criticism.
The Urban ExperienceThe Urban Experience by David Harvey
Buy new: $21.25 / Used from: $13.30
Marx, Marx, more Marx. Harvey's work isn't easy, for he assumes that his reader really know what Marxism is and how it critiques capitalism.
Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western ApacheWisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache by Keith H. Basso
Buy new: $20.36 / Used from: $9.69
ESSENTIAL. This is one of the few works that deals with landscape and memory in a sensible (and academically responsible) fashion. The unique case study identifies a totally radical approach to space and place. This is a must-have.
The Power of Place: Urban Landscapes as Public HistoryThe Power of Place: Urban Landscapes as Public History by Dolores Hayden
Buy new: $16.41 / Used from: $9.00
This is the public history approach to the challenges of "public" space. This is another unique approach to explaining spatial theory, and it deserves a place on your shelf.