Theorising spatial and
Environmental Challenges
Summary
Inhoud
Course objectives................................................................................................................2
Lecture 1..............................................................................................................................3
Situated Knowledges.......................................................................................................3
Positivism........................................................................................................................3
Objectivity.......................................................................................................................4
Justice..............................................................................................................................4
Lecture 2..............................................................................................................................6
Capitalism........................................................................................................................6
Lecture 3..............................................................................................................................9
Racial capitalism and Coloniality...................................................................................9
Intersectionality.............................................................................................................11
The place of speech........................................................................................................13
Lecture 4............................................................................................................................14
Nationalism...................................................................................................................14
Metageography..............................................................................................................15
Lecture 5............................................................................................................................17
The Nature/ Culture divide...........................................................................................17
The concept of Wilderness............................................................................................17
Lecture 6............................................................................................................................19
Orientalism....................................................................................................................19
Lecture 7............................................................................................................................22
Epistemic Justice..........................................................................................................22
Lecture 8...........................................................................................................................26
Human exceptionalism.................................................................................................26
Lecture 9...........................................................................................................................28
Spatial justice................................................................................................................28
Key Theories Glossary......................................................................................................30
Key Sources Glossary........................................................................................................32
,Course objectives
At the end of this course, you will be able to…
Identify and evaluate core concepts in the study of human geography, spatial
planning, and environmental governance and politics based in critical theory.
Apply core concepts based in critical theory to real-world phenomena, which, by
definition, come saturated in asymmetrical relationships of power.
Analyse the degree to which political and economic geographies, on the one hand,
and social and cultural geographies, on the other, are intertwined and together
inform the lived experience of spatial challenges, including environmental ones.
Explain and critically discuss different ways to conceptualize justice in the social
production or construction of time and space.
Extend discussion on the root causes of injustices based on systemic forms of
alienation, marginalization, segregation, and exploration through such concepts
as racial capitalism, neoliberalism, human exceptionalism, and patriarchy.
Recognize why history matters to understand present conditions of
disempowerment for both humans and nonhumans alike.
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,In Part I, the course surveys political and economic theories by key thinkers to examine
the ways in which space is not pregiven or natural but is materially produced. We
consider, for example, how taken for granted the project of empire is in the political
organisation of space through mapmaking and the creation of borders. We examine the
uneven production of wealth and poverty across geographies as an inherent outcome of
capitalism.
Lecture 1
Our opening session prepares the ground for the lectures to follow by introducing key
ideas and why they matter for the study of spatial and environmental challenges. These
concepts include, but are not limited to, critical theory, social construction, objectivity,
partial through, time-space, and justice. We’ll mobilize them throughout the course,
often by incorporating a historical sensibility to show that political economies and
social phenomena are not timeless and universal, which allows us to remain alert to
societal transformation.
Situated Knowledges
Situated knowledges: the idea that all knowledge is produced from a specific perspective,
shaped by the knower’s location, context, and experiences.
Situated knowledges is the idea that knowledge cannot be entirely separated from its
maker. Haraway argues that all knowledge is ‘’situated’’, meaning it is produced from a
specific location, perspective, and context. This challenges the notion of an objective, all-
encompassing, and ‘’god’s eye view’’ perspective in science, which she critiques as a
masculinist illusion. Instead, Haraway advocates for acknowledging the partial, local,
and embodied nature of all knowledge.
Radical objectivity vs. Radical subjectivity
Empiricism Relativism
Positivism
Relativism: the doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality, exist in relation to culture,
society, or historical context, and are not absolute.
The alternative to relativism is partial, locatable, critical knowledges, sustaining the
possibility of webs of connections called solidarity in politics and shared conversations in
epistemology.
Positivism
Positivism: a theory that emphasizes empirical, observable evidence and the scientific
method as the only valid sources of knowledge, rejecting metaphysics and subjective
interpretations.
Empiricism: the reliance on sensory experience and observable phenomena as the basis
for knowledge.
Positivism emerges with Auguste Comte in early 19th century. Positivism is an approach
to knowledge production that claims all genuine knowledge is true based on priori facts
derived from reason. Other ways of knowing (intuition, religious faith) are meaningless.
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, It emphasizes data obtained through observation, experimentation, and logical analysis,
rejecting metaphysics and theism as legitimate sources of knowledge.
- Facts already exist in the world (a priori) and it is the job of the researcher to
discover them.
In this view, objectivity is rooted in a reliance on discoverable facts that can be measured
and quantified by a seemingly neutral observer for them to appear certain.
- For example, scientific and statistical truths appear ‘’neutral’’ in part because their
author is invisible.
Objectivity
Objectivity: the ideal of being unbiased and detached, striving for neutrality in
knowledge production.
Subjectivity: the quality of being based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or
opinions.
Subjectivity sometimes presumed to imply a claim is merely relative and thus a matter of
opinion. Too often subjectivity (sometimes conflated with bias or opinion) is
misunderstood as untrustworthy in part because the author of a knowledge claim
remains visible.
- But that position only makes sense if you are a diehard positivist.
- We see this in the classroom all the time when, say, a professor claims using the
first person (‘’I’’) is ‘’wrong’’ in an essay.
As if ‘’objectivity = impartiality with a ‘’view from above, from nowhere’’.
The objectivity/ subjectivity debate is not only misguided. It is a distraction, especially
because there can be no justice without truth. This brings us to a core focus of this course
– justice – in all its multiple and proliferating forms.
Feminist Objectivity: A redefined form of objectivity that emphasizes the importance of
acknowledging and being accountable for one’s perspective and biases.
Feminist objectivity means quite simply situated knowledges. In contrast to traditional
objectivity, Haraway introduces the concept of ‘’feminist objectivity’’, which embraces the
idea that objectivity is achieved through recognizing and accounting for one’s position
and perspective. This involves an awareness of the limits and biases inherent in one’s
viewpoint, and a commitment to responsible and accountable knowledge production.
Justice
The law is not the same as justice.
Distributive justice, or the fair allocation of resources among diverse members
of a community. This form of justice emphasizes equity and fairness in the
distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. It seeks to
address the economic and social disparities by ensuring that everyone has access
to what they need to live a dignified life. Theories of distributive justice often
involve discussions around concepts like equality, equity, and need, aiming to
create systems where resources are shared fairly based on these principles.
- Think taxes.
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