Contextuality

From Geography

The concept of contextuality addresses the situatedness of social life and has deep historical roots. The word 'context' derived from the same latin word as the word 'text', being the metaphorical: texere, which means 'to weave'. "...in traditions of interpretation, context came to refer to the coherence of the text, the connections between the parts and the whole" (Simonsen, K., 2011,p. 111) From a contextual perspective, social life is embedded in a series of circumstances, that affect it. "All social activity, is formed in three conjoined moments of difference: temporally, structurally and spatially; the conjunction of these express the situated character of social practices (Giddens, A., 1981, p. 30, In Simonsen, K., 2011, p. 111)

Contextuality in geography

The term contextuality was introduced into geography by Torsten Hägerstrand, a Swedish geographer. Anthony Giddens, as part of the structuration theory, provides a set of concepts describing "contextuality as inherently involved in the connection of social integration and system-integration; of face-to-face interaction and more extensive relations of metiated interactions. ... Many geographers have worked in critical dialogue with these formulations" (Simonsen, K., 2011, p. 111). This is also related to the interpretation of space vs. place.

References

• Simonsen, K., (2011), Contextuality, In: Gregory, D., et al. (2011) A dictionary of human geography. Wiley-Blackwell, 5th edition

Contributors

• Page created by Isis Boot - --IsisBoot 17:01, 26 October 2012 (CEST)