Contextual regional geography
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Context
Contextual regional geography is the answer to the deficiencies of compositional regional geography. Important contributors to this form of geography are, among others, Anthony Giddens and Nigel Thrift. Contextual regional geography is intimately related to the theory of structuration (structuralism)and the research related to this kind of geography would distinguish two components, namely 'locale' and 'social action'.
Steps to be taken
Two steps should be taken to 'translate' traditional regional geography into a new regional geography.
First step: Redefining the regional At first, it is important not to eliminate the elemental perspective of traditional geography, but to reorientate it. This means that "action-related differentiations and emancipatory standards are to be introduced into this physically defined space" (Werlen, 2009, p.4). So "the region is certainly regarded as a physically defined space within which social action takes place, but not solely in the sense of being an empty, meaningless environment. On the contrary, the region here is given a constitutive meaning - constitutive for human action"(p.4). This means that the region is an indirectly active entity.
Second step: From a compositional to a contextual geography Second, we can come to a real 'translation' to contextual regional geography by looking at the 'locale' and 'social action'. "Locales can be characterized as particular time-space patterns or structures having a determining impact on life-paths" (Werlen, 2009, p.5). 'Social action', next to that, identifies four aspects:
1.Personality and socialisation
2.Penetration and the availability of knowledge
Critique
References
Werlen, B. (2009). Everyday Regionalizations. In: International Encyclopedia for Human Geography. Elsevier.
Contributors
Page created by --JikkeVanTHof 11:09, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
