This book demonstrates the value of ethnographic theory and methods in understanding space and place, and considers how ethnographically-based spatial analyses can yield insight into prejudices, inequalities and social exclusion as well as offering people the means for understanding the places where they live, work, shop and socialize. In developing the concept of spatializing culture, Setha Low draws on over twenty years of research to examine social production, social construction, embodied, discursive, emotive and affective, as well as translocal approaches. A global range of fieldwork examples are employed throughout the text to highlight not just the theoretical development of the idea of spatializing culture, but how it can be used in undertaking ethnographies of space and place. The volume will be valuable for students and scholars from a number of disciplines who are interested in the study of culture through the lens of space and place.

Anthropological perspective are not often represented in urban studies, even though many anthropologist have been contributing actively to theory and research on urban poverty, racism, globalization, and architecture. Theorizing the City corrects this omission. Following a brief history of urban anthropology, emphasizing developments in the field during the 1990s, this volume presents twelve ethnographies of major cities in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Five images of the city-the divided city, the contested city, the global city, the modernist city, and the postmodern city-serve as frameworks for the essays. Each section highlights current research trends such as poststructural studies of race, class and gender in the urban context; political economic studies of transnational culture; and studies of the symbolic meanings and social production of urban spaces.

Oral testimony is one of the most valuable but challenging sources for the study of modern history, providing access to knowledge and experience unavailable to historians of earlier periods. In this groundbreaking collection, oral testimonies are used to explore themes relating to the construction of urban memories in European cities during the twentieth century. From the daily experiences of city life, to personal and communal responses to urban change and regeneration, to migration and the construction of ethnic identities, oral history is employed to enrich our understanding of urban history. It offers insights and perspectives that both enhance existing approaches and forces us to re-examine official histories based on more traditional sources of documentation. Moreover, it enables the historian to understand something of the nature of memory itself, and how people construct their own versions of the urban experience to try to make sense of the past. By using the full range of opportunities offered by oral history, as well as fully considering the related methodological issues of interpretation, this volume provides a fascinating insight into one of the least explored areas of urban history. As well as adding to our understanding of the European urban experience, it highlights the potential of this intersection of oral and urban history.

The People, Place, and Space Reader brings together the writings of scholars, designers, and activists from a variety of fields to make sense of the makings and meanings of the world we inhabit. They help us to understand the relationships between people and the environment at all scales, and to consider the active roles individuals, groups, and social structures play in creating the environments in which people live, work, and play. These readings highlight the ways in which space and place are produced through large- and small-scale social, political, and economic practices, and offer new ways to think about how people engage the environment in multiple and diverse ways. Providing an essential resource for students of urban studies, geography, sociology and many other areas, this book brings together important but, till now, widely dispersed writings across many inter-related disciplines. Introductions from the editors precede each section; introducing the texts, demonstrating their significance, and outlining the key issues surrounding the topic. A companion website, PeoplePlaceSpace.org, extends the work even further by providing an on-going series of additional reading lists that cover issues ranging from food security to foreclosure, psychiatric spaces to the environments of predator animals.

Migration, Mobility and Sojourning in Cross-cultural Films: Interculturing Cinema draws on existing scholarship on global movements and intercultural communication in cinema to analyze six cross-cultural films. Ishani Mukherjee and Maggie Griffith Williams locate key themes that tie into the complexity and implications of global movements, including migrants’ experiences of culture-shock, cultural assimilation and/or integration, cultural identities in transition, social mobility and movements, and the short-term intercultural impact that sojourners experience in unfamiliar cultural space. Mukherjee and Williams explore how intercultural communication functions in the storytelling and in the formation of character relationships in these films, arguing that the depictions of migration, mobility, and the resulting intercultural communications are complex and stressful moments of conflict that lead to mixed results. Scholars of film studies, communication, migrant studies, sociology, and cultural studies will find this book particularly useful.

"This book presents a magisterial overview of Cultural Studies, and of studies of culture more broadly. It synthesizes a bewildering range of writers and ideas into a comprehensible narrative. It’s respectful to the history of ideas and completely cutting edge. I learned a lot – you will too." - Professor Alan McKee, University of Technology Sydney "The role of culture in spatial, digital and political settings is a vital aspect of contemporary life. Barker and Jane provide an excellent introduction to Cultural Studies’ relationship to these core issues, both through a clear explanation of key concepts and thinkers, alongside well chosen examples and essential questions." - Dr David O′Brien, Goldsmiths, University of London With over 40,000 copies sold, Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice has been the indispensable guide to studying culture for generations of students. Here is everything students need to know, with all the key concepts, theories and thinkers in one comprehensive, authoritative yet accessible resource. Teaching students the foundations of cultural studies - from ideology, representation and discourse to audiences, subcultures and cultural policy - this revised edition: Fully explores the ubiquity of digital media culture, helping readers analyse issues surrounding social media, surveillance, cyber-activism and more Introduces students to all the key thinkers they’ll encounter, from Stuart Hall and Michel Foucault to Judith Butler and Donna Haraway Balances the classics with cutting edge theory, including case studies on e-commerce, the self-help industry, the transgender debate, and representations of race Embraces popular culture in all of its diversity, from drag kings and gaming, to anime fandom and remix cultures Is re-written throughout with a new co-author, making it a more enjoyable read than ever. Unmatched in coverage and used world-wide, this is the essential companion for all students of cultural studies, culture and society, media and cultural theory, popular culture and cultural sociology.

Paris’s Gare du Nord is one of the busiest international transit centers in the world. In the past three decades, it has become an important hub for West African migrants—self-fashioned adventurers—navigating life in the city. In this groundbreaking work, Julie Kleinman chronicles how West Africans use the Gare du Nord to create economic opportunities, confront police harassment, and forge connections to people outside of their communities. Drawing on ten years of ethnographic research, including an internship at the French national railway company, Kleinman reveals how racial inequality is ingrained in the order of Parisian public space. She vividly describes the extraordinary ways that African migrants retool French transit infrastructure to build alternative pathways toward social and economic integration where state institutions have failed. In doing so, these adventurers defy boundaries—between migrant and citizen, center and periphery, neighbor and stranger—that have shaped urban planning and immigration policy. Adventure Capital offers a new understanding of contemporary migration and belonging, capturing the central role that West African migrants play in revitalizing French urban life.

In 2009, after seismic tremors struck the Italian mountain town of L'Aquila, survivors were subjected to a "second earthquake"—invasive media attention and a relief effort that left them in a state of suspended citizenship as they were forcibly resettled and had to envision a new future. In Citizens without a City, Jan-Jonathan Bock reveals how a disproportionate government response exacerbated survivors' sense of crisis, divided the local population, and induced new types of political action. Italy's disenfranchising emergency reaction relocated citizens to camps and sites across a ruined townscape, without a plan for restoration or return. Through grassroots politics, arts and culture, commemoration rituals, architectural projects, and legal avenues, local people now sought to shape their hometown's recovery. Bock combines an analysis of the catastrophe's impact with insights into post-disaster civic life, urban heritage, the politics of mourning, and community fragmentation. A fascinating read for anyone interested in urban culture, disaster, and politics, Citizens without a City illustrates how survivors battled to retain a sense of purpose and community after the L'Aquila earthquake.

Change is the most significant factor of contemporary society and humanity s past. This book represents the first substantial attempt since the 1970s to synthesize and critique sociocultural change theories in anthropology and relate them to trends in the social and physical sciences. It emphasizes the most recent contributions especially complexity and emergence theory, social movements, network analysis, and globalization. Ervin presents a rich legacy of theories and case studies accessible to both the established scholar and the beginning student. He considers how theories and insights can inform policy as humanity faces crises of globalization.Key Features of the Text Designed for scholars and students seeking a comprehensive analysis of the relation between anthropological theory and practice. Assesses big questions facing the social sciences: Do cultures and societies change or is it really individuals, families, and social networks? Are there prime movers of change environment, technology, economics, ideas, powerful leaders, or cultural contacts? Are there structures embedded within changes and changes built into structures? Original contribution of the book is the integration of sociological and anthropological theories, including networks, social movements, complexity, world systems, etc. Online appendices include resources for students on applied and practice anthropology."

Events can be synonymous with a particular place, helping shape and promote a location. Given the rise of the global events industry, this book uncovers how events impact upon places and societies, looking at a range of different events and geographical scales. Geographers are concerned with how notions of space and place impact people, communities and identity, and events have played a central role in how places are perceived, consumed and even contested. This book will discuss international event cases to frame knowledge around the increased demands, pressures and complexities that globalisation, transnationalism, regeneration and competitiveness has put on events, places and societies. Integrating discussions of theory and practice, this book will explore the range of conceptual perspectives linked to how geographers and sociologists understand events and the role events play in contemporary times. This involves recognizing histories and planning strategies, the purpose of bidding for an event or the local meanings that have emerged and changed in the place. This helps us analyse how events have the potential to redefine place identities. This international edited collection will appeal to academics across disciplines such as geography, planning and sociology, as well as students on events management and events studies courses.