Everyday regionalisation

From Geography

Everyday regionalization

Regionalization as part of the term discussed here should be understood correctly: Unlike the traditional definition which implies “an academic practice of spatial delimitation of natural, social, economic, cultural, or political spheres of reality” (Werlen, 2009a, p. 1) regionalization refers to “everyday practice” and the use of spatial reference to structure the diverse realities (ibid.). This is where the concept "Everyday regionalizations" comes from: the concept elaborated in action-centered structurationist geography (not to be confused with structuralist) or even 'action-centered social geography', by scholars with a background in German-speaking geography, social theory and philosophy. At its roots it accepts that ultimately, it is in individual human beings as acting subjects that the dynamics for all social life occurs. How space is treated in this approach is crucial and differs significantly from older forms of regional geography. In the study of regions, it requests researchers to take serious note of what is referred to as "geography-making": how human beings mark out - through their ideas and practices - what they evidently regard and act upon as meaningful places or 'regional' entities. In that sense the theory relies very much on constructionism, since meaning of the real world is regarded to b constituted by “(inter-)subjective […] processes” (ibid.). Realities then cannot exist “independently from their constituting processes” (ibid.). Thus, rather than regarding regions as 'containers' of human activities, it is suggested to view them as thought-and practice constructs of people for whom, for whatever reason, they come to matter and are used by them. Therefore, Werlen came to write about 'everyday regionalizations' (ibid., pp. 1-2).

Benno Werlen in his paper on 'Everyday regionalizations' (2009a) argues that regional analysis investigating relations between 'place' and 'subject' have to be given up and should rather focus on the acting of the subjects - a change from 'regional geography' (contextual geography) to the geographical exploration of 'everyday regionalization' processes (the social use of “place-referred symbols and markings”) (ibid., p. 8).

Therefore a crucial argument of Werlen is that analysis of regionalization processes should not be limited to the reconstruction of actually existing political regions, this being the case for the new regional geography (searching law-like patterns) (ibid.). Instead, utilization of structuration theory for geographical investigation of socio-cultural universes has to focus on processes of everyday regionalizations, referring to action and centering around subjects (ibid.). This is indeed then one of the most challenging duties of structurationist geography, but also contemporary Human Geography in today's globalising times (Werlen, 2009b, Structurationist Geography)

References

• Werlen, B. (2009a). Everyday Regionalisations. Elsevier.

• Werlen, B. (2009b). Structurationist Geography. Elsevier.

Contributors

• page created by Kolar Aparna--KolarAparna 11:23, 10 October 2011 (CEST)

• enhanced by Janna Völpel s3015041JannaVolpel 14:56, 7 May 2012 (CEST)