Place: An Introduction

Place is one of the most fundamental concepts in human geography as well as the broad field of the humanities and social sciences. This highly successful short introduction provides a fundamental overview for students, combining discussion about everyday uses of the term with the more complex theoretical debates that have grown up around it. Now in its second edition, the text has been significantly revised and updated while preserving its valuable brevity. Place traces the development of the concept from the 1950s through its subsequent appropriation by cultural geographers, and the linking of place to politics. It makes these debates accessible to students by drawing on global examples from the news, popular culture, and everyday life as a way of explaining more abstract ideas. The second edition retains discussion of classic issues and debates, but it has been developed to reflect recent issues and research, and to ensure its continued relevance. The new edition also includes an additional section on the use of place in non–geographical arenas, such as ecological theory, art theory and practice, philosophy, and social theory. The book is supported by revised teaching and learning aids at www.wiley.com/go/place , including an annotated bibliography, lists of key readings and texts, a survey of web resources, and suggested pedagogical resources and potential student projects.

Tim Cresswell is Professor of History and International Affairs at Northeastern University, Boston. His books include Geographic Thought: A Critical Introduction (Wiley–Blackwell, 2012)and On the Move: Mobility in the Modern Western World (2006). He has also co–edited four collections, including Geographies of Mobilities: Practices, Spaces, Subjects (with Peter Merriman, 2012).