This text introduces students of human geography to the fundamental concept of place, marrying everyday uses of the term with the complex theoretical debates that have grown up around it. A short introduction to one of the most fundamental concepts in human geography Marries everyday uses of the term "place" with the more complex theoretical debates that have grown up around it Makes the debates intelligible to students, using familiar stories as a way into more abstract ideas Excerpts and discusses key papers on place by Doreen Massey and David Harvey Considers empirical examples of ways in which the concept of place has been used in research Teaching and learning aids include an annotated bibliography, lists of key readings and texts, a survey of web resources, suggested pedagogical resources and possible student projects
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"This is a truly wonderful book. It is short but not trite or superficial. It is in depth without being dense. It is timely without ignoring classic issues and debates. There is a clear pedagogy here, which is often missing in texts, and it is well written by an outstanding geographer, and so I predict this book will sell very well indeed." Michael Brown, University of Washington <!––end––> "The idea of place lies at the heart of most significant geographical issues, yet place can often be a difficult and highly contested notion. There is no more authoritative writer on place than Tim Cresswell, and here he presents a formidable multifaceted introduction...which should be read by every student of human geography." Paul Cloke, Bristol University
From the Back Cover
Place is one of the most fundamental concepts in human geography. This short introduction marries familiar everyday uses of the term with the more complex theoretical debates that have grown up around it. This text makes debates about intelligible to students, using illustrations from the news, popular culture, and everyday life as a way into more abstract ideas. It traces the development of the concept of place from the 1950s through its subsequent appropriation by cultural geography and the linking of place to politics. Substantial parts of exemplary papers by Doreen Massey and David Harvey are included as a focus for discussion, and the author also considers empirical examples of ways in which the concept of place has been mobilised in research. Teaching and learning aids include an annotated bibliography, lists of key readings and texts, a survey of web resources, and suggestions for pedagogical resources and student projects.
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Human geography is the study of places. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Human geography is the study of places. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
With the re-emergence of "place" as a key variable in our economic lifes - industrial clusters, learning regions, creative milieu - this book is much needed. It gives a well-researched overview over the geneology of "place" by drawing from a wide range of academic disciplines and eras.
The book is well written, in depth-yet short and very much to the point. A gift.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Ana
Format:Paperback
I have found this to be a really valuable introduction to the concept of place in academic study, and coming from a non-geographical background doesn't hunder my enjoyment of the book. Cresswell writes in an accessible and pleasing way, talking the reader methodically through the field, and signposting further reading or lines of inquiry throughout, in addition to a collated chapter of resources and research at the end of the book. Cresswell draws on case studies by key geographers to illustrate his exploration of the subject, yet his writing style ensures that the text reads like a well constructed narrative rather than a series of citations or extracts. He refers back to earlier, connected points as he progresses. I will certainly refer back to this book in my future explration of 'place'.
My only gripe would be with this 2004 print of the book. The proofing is either lazy or absent. The use of the comma is incredibly random and often lacking - so many sentences require a second reading - and the liberal typos 'of' for 'or', 'out' for 'our', etc. are distracting. Cresswell also alternates between UK and US spelling. A good proof would have done better justice to his helpful text. I see the second edition is due out in October 2012 - I hope the publishers pick up these sloppy errors.
My only gripe would be with this 2004 print of the book. The proofing is either lazy or absent. The use of the comma is incredibly random and often lacking - so many sentences require a second reading - and the liberal typos 'of' for 'or', 'out' for 'our', etc. are distracting. Cresswell also alternates between UK and US spelling. A good proof would have done better justice to his helpful text. I see the second edition is due out in October 2012 - I hope the publishers pick up these sloppy errors.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Helpful
10 Jan 2009
By R. Stander
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Cresswell's volume is one of the most helpful for those starting out with discussions of place. He deftly moves between the complexities, central figures, and history of place. Cresswell helpfully summarizes many of the arrayed arguments pointing to differences and similarities. Perhaps one of the most helpful components of the text is the Chapter 5 resources for further study of place including books, papers, journals, other approaches, as well as, student projects and exercises to grapple with concepts and practice of place.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
I wish this was a great deal better than it actually is
26 April 2012
By Adam Greenfield
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm coming out of a many-year hibernation as regards Amazon reviews to warn you away from this book, and it doesn't give me any pleasure to do so.
I was considering it as a basic text for students in my ITP course "Urban Experience in the Networked Age," who are at graduate level, but generally won't have had much in the way of background in geography. I found the notion of a brisk overview of conceptions of place pretty appealing, and still do. And there are, indeed, a lot of things to like in this book -- it functions very well as an annotated bibliography, albeit an expensive one.
Why no more than that? Unfortunately, in Cresswell's hands, the mischaracterizations (particularly of Lefebvre and Heidegger) crop up early, continue throughout, and would require so much repair and backfill to correct that in the end it's just not worth my time as an instructor. The mischaracterization of work I am acquainted with was serious enough that I began to doubt Cresswell's gloss on writers and thinkers I wasn't familiar with.
There are dozens of typos (among other howlers, Heidegger's Dasein is repeatedly rendered "desein"), sentences go unpunctuated, and beyond matters of copy, the volume stands badly in need of an editor. "Activities and forms of human life and culture which threatened regional and place-based distinctiveness were thus a threat" (p. 18)? You don't say.
The tragedy here is that I'm sure Cresswell's aims and goals are largely identical with my own, and I don't think for a second he set out to write a bad book. I really wish I could wave a magic wand and turn "Place" into the book its author and I both clearly wanted it to be, but sadly, that's beyond my abilities.
I was considering it as a basic text for students in my ITP course "Urban Experience in the Networked Age," who are at graduate level, but generally won't have had much in the way of background in geography. I found the notion of a brisk overview of conceptions of place pretty appealing, and still do. And there are, indeed, a lot of things to like in this book -- it functions very well as an annotated bibliography, albeit an expensive one.
Why no more than that? Unfortunately, in Cresswell's hands, the mischaracterizations (particularly of Lefebvre and Heidegger) crop up early, continue throughout, and would require so much repair and backfill to correct that in the end it's just not worth my time as an instructor. The mischaracterization of work I am acquainted with was serious enough that I began to doubt Cresswell's gloss on writers and thinkers I wasn't familiar with.
There are dozens of typos (among other howlers, Heidegger's Dasein is repeatedly rendered "desein"), sentences go unpunctuated, and beyond matters of copy, the volume stands badly in need of an editor. "Activities and forms of human life and culture which threatened regional and place-based distinctiveness were thus a threat" (p. 18)? You don't say.
The tragedy here is that I'm sure Cresswell's aims and goals are largely identical with my own, and I don't think for a second he set out to write a bad book. I really wish I could wave a magic wand and turn "Place" into the book its author and I both clearly wanted it to be, but sadly, that's beyond my abilities.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Sense of Humor
25 Mar 2011
By Maria
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The author has a sense of humor that catches you off-guard when you're reading. This a good book to start off a Rhetoric of Place class, or begin your study of place. Most of the authors referenced in the book are people that I come across again and again in my readings. Great summary book that spans across dozens of lead-aways from discussions of the "other" to being "out of place" and "non-places" etc. Cresswell does a brilliant job of making it all cohesive. I wish he would have added more examples for his chapter on Harvey and Massey, but other than that, he makes some wonderful connections that make it easier to delve into a confusing topic.
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3.5 out of 5 stars
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