Benno Werlen

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Benno Werlen

Benno Werlen (10 October 1952, Switzerland) is currently professor in Human Geography at the University of Jena. He also holds positions for various international institutions such as the European Research Council, The initiative of the International Geographical Union on Global Understanding (Director), the IGU Commission and more (Institut für Geographie, n.d.). He is internationally known for his research in Action theory and his writings and publications in general in the field of Human geography (Institut für Geographie, n.d.).

Life

Werlen studied Geography, Ethnology, Sociology and Economics at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland until 1980 (Institut für Geographie, n.d.). After finishing his studies he went on researching as an assistant of Prof D. Bartels in Kiel as later on in his career back in Fribourg. In 1994 he received his PhD (Habilitation) at the University of Zürich (Switzerland) (Institut für Geographie, n.d.)with his research on Action theory. From 1996 on he came into position of a regular Professor teaching at various Universities in Human Geography (among others in Jena, Salzburg, Genevre). Werlen was permanently engaged as researcher and in a leading teaching position at the Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena, Germany. In purpose of research he also traveled and stayed in Los Angeles, Cambridge and London (Institut für Geographie, n.d.). At the London School of Economics he met Anthony Giddens, a British sociologist, the current director of the institution. His work is strongly influenced by Gidden´s ideas on Structuration theory (Structure vs. Structuration).

Work

The work of Benno Werlen focuses especially on theories as well as the empirical of Action-centred geography (Handlungszentrierter Geographie). More precisely he came to research on everyday globalization- and regionalization processes from the perspective just mentioned above. Projects of his career and interest then centered around cultural issues of urban development, globalization, geographies of information and intercultural communication, political regionalism (and nationalism). He also worked on geographies of youth in multicultural societies, the cultural dimension of geographic practices and more (Institut für Geographie, n.d.).

It was in 1993 when Werlen published his most important book: Society, Action and Space: An Alternative Human Geography. The book is internationally recognized as a major contribution to the interface between geography and social theory. Space is not only an important component in research in geography but “a significant number of social processes and problems involve some spatial component” (Werlen, 2005, p. 47). The theory of Benno Werlen is based on going from a space-centered towards an action-centered Human Geography. Werlen: “In the history of geographical research, ‘space’ has been understood variously as a cause for social action, as a container of the social world or even as objectified social and cultural meaning” (2005, p. 48). But according to Werlen ‘space’ doesn’t exist on itself, is a construction of reality based on the body as naturally given. Body experience is the bases for experience of all objects. There are many concepts of space. The meaning we give to the world around us is not pre-given. Everyone’s personal meaning is changed by experiences, by their own stock of knowledge. The raw material is pre-given, but meaning is always constituted. With ‘action’ Werlen means an intentional process of an act, from present to future. This differs from ‘behaviour’ which is a respons from past to present. Action meant that a person has ideas of how things could or should be otherwise and also tries to realize these images. We use the elements of the situation to realize the action, or because of the elements we can’t realize the action. So intentionality and creativity are strongly linked to the action-theory of Werlen. But that we have intentions doesn’t mean that all consequences of our actions are intended. Things turn out differently than you expect because you can never have full knowledge, you cannot have total control over a situation and you can’t control how other people will behave and interfere with your goals. Benno Werlen and Anthony Giddens visions are often described as late-modernity. In his work the 'late modern society' is therefore often discussed.

Publications

WERLEN, B. (2009): Gesellschaftliche Räumlichkeit. Bd. 2: Konstruktion geographischer Wirklichkeiten. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

WERLEN, B. (2009): Gesellschaftliche Räumlichkeit. Bd. 1: Orte der Geographie. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

WERLEN, B., P. WEICHHART & C. WEISKE (2006): Place Identity und Images. Das Beispiel Eisenhüttenstadt. Abhandlungen zur Geographie und Regionalforschung 9. Wien: Institut für Geographie und Regionalforschung.

WERLEN, B. (2000): Sozialgeographie. Eine Einführung. Bern: UTB Haupt.

WERLEN, B. (1997): Sozialgeographie alltäglicher Regionalisierungen Bd. 2: Globalisierung, Region und Regionalisierung. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

WERLEN, B. (1995): Sozialgeographie alltäglicher Regionalisierungen Bd. 1: Zur Ontologie von Gesellschaft und Raum. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

WERLEN, B. (1993): Society, Action and Space. An alternative human London: Routledge.

WERLEN, B. (1987): Gesellschaft, Handlung und Raum. Grundlagen handlungstheoretischer Sozialgeographie. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

References

Fontein, R.J., & Broek, J. van den. (n.d.). De Geografische handelingstheorie: het maken van de geografie. Retrieved on Octorber 21st, 2010, from:http://socgeo.ruhosting.nl/html/files/geoapp/Werkstukken/Werlen.pdf

Institut für Geographie (n.d.). Lehrstuhl für Sozialgeographie, Prof. Dr. Benno Werlen. Retrieved on April 18th, 2012, from Universität Jena, Lehrstühle: http://www.geographie.uni-jena.de/Werlen.html

University of Jena (2010). Wissenschaftliche publikationen. Retrieved on Octorber 21st, 2010, from: http://www.uni-jena.de/unijenamedia/Bilder/faculties/chgeo/inst_geogr/Sozialgeographie/Dokumente+Werlen/Wissenschaftliche_Publikationen_Werlen_September_2009.pdf

Werlen, B. (1993). Society, Action and Space. An alternative human geography. London: Routledge.

Werlen, B. (2005). Regions and everyday regionalizations. From a space-centered towards an action-centered human geography. In Houtum, H. van., Kramsch, O., & Zierhofer, W. (Eds) Bordering Space (pp. 47 – 60). Hampshire: Ashgate.

Contributors

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Edited by Lotte den Boogert, 19 september 2012.