Regions I:
Introduction
,Week 1 Regions I
Regions learning line, all 3 years. Every second week class.
Lectures more general. Seminars about the general issues in the
region.
Exam:
- Content lectures
- Article online Tomaney
- Seminars course material and discussions
Course focus:
- Historiography of regions: how do historians approach and analyse
regions?
- Conceptional-theoretical tools: how do scholars define concepts used
in regional history and how does it influence research?
What is a concept? A kind of unit in terms of which one thinks; a unit
smaller than a judgement, proposition, or theory, but one which
necessarily enters into these.
A concept is:
1. something conceived in the mind: THOUGHT, NOTION
2. an abstract or generic idea generalised from particular instances,
Merriam-Webster
They inform our thinking, telling what to include in reflection and thinking.
They structure our thinking. They determine how we sense things. They
also focus and limit our understanding. They are the building blocs of our
thinking. We need to reflect on them.
Concepts related to regional history we will be discussing:
- Space
- Region
- City
- Borders and boundaries
- Transregional and transnational exchange
- Etc.
,Understand the historiographic example connected to the concepts. Very
important for exam! Conceptional theoretical debates and the examples!
Lecture 1: What is a region?
1. Space and region in (world) history
It depends on who you ask, there is no consensus about what it is.
The ‘spatial turn’ in history (rediscovery of the past, a development)
- Increasingly influential within historiography since about 20 years
- Tries to overcome 2 tendencies
- 1. Space is not just the container for historical change, but
something more important
- 2. Space is not (only) an absolute concept: history is not determined
by space as the only explanation ground. It can not be measured, its
very relative. These are the 2 new messages.
How can we understand space as a product of historical development. How
does space determine social relations. How do people look at space?
- “HISTORICAL PROCESSES CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD AS THEY
LITERALLY TAKE PLACE, UNFOLDING ACROSS PARTICULAR
LANDSCAPES AN INFLUENCED BY THE OBDURATE REALITIES OF THE
PHYSICAL WORLD. CORRESPONDINGLY, THE SPATIAL PATTERNS OF
THE GEOGRAPHER’S PURVIEW CAN BE CONSIDERED
COMPREHENSIBLE ONLY AS EXAMINED THROUGH THEIR HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT
So he says that geography needs history and visa versa. Mutual
dependency.
A constructivist understanding of space: Henri Lefebvre (1901-
1991):
- French philosopher and sociologist, marxist
- Focus on urban cities and studies of everyday life
- Strongly influenced by 1968 student movement and marxism
- 1974: La production de L’espace
- Produced a lot of work. Tried to address the product from aspect of
space. He says space is historical; you cannot understand it outside
of history. It is also not absolute according to him, but produced by
society themselves, so always a product of society. Third, society
, produces space al the time, so space is temporary, they redefine it
all the time. Fourth: production of space is a notion of social space,
so connected to communication and its a together thing. It's always
a result of communication and exchange so a social space from
communication.
Technologies important impact in our knowledge of space. Space and
regions don’t mean the same to everyone, so connected to power
relations. We need to consider physical space as well
John Tomaney, different understanding of regions
Regions are ‘historically contingent social constructions’, so made from
communications and social space and social interactions. Contingent
means they depend on history and always contemporary, it changes
always.
His questions:
- Where do regions come from? So historical
- Is region a construction of scholars or were people in history aware
of living in regions? Did they think about it or is it our construction
block from today?
- How did premodern empires relate to regions and other forms of
networks and connectivity. Some say its very modern.
- What is relation between regions and nation states?
- How have modern European empires determined ‘regions’?
- How do global processes since 1945 influence regions?
Introduction
,Week 1 Regions I
Regions learning line, all 3 years. Every second week class.
Lectures more general. Seminars about the general issues in the
region.
Exam:
- Content lectures
- Article online Tomaney
- Seminars course material and discussions
Course focus:
- Historiography of regions: how do historians approach and analyse
regions?
- Conceptional-theoretical tools: how do scholars define concepts used
in regional history and how does it influence research?
What is a concept? A kind of unit in terms of which one thinks; a unit
smaller than a judgement, proposition, or theory, but one which
necessarily enters into these.
A concept is:
1. something conceived in the mind: THOUGHT, NOTION
2. an abstract or generic idea generalised from particular instances,
Merriam-Webster
They inform our thinking, telling what to include in reflection and thinking.
They structure our thinking. They determine how we sense things. They
also focus and limit our understanding. They are the building blocs of our
thinking. We need to reflect on them.
Concepts related to regional history we will be discussing:
- Space
- Region
- City
- Borders and boundaries
- Transregional and transnational exchange
- Etc.
,Understand the historiographic example connected to the concepts. Very
important for exam! Conceptional theoretical debates and the examples!
Lecture 1: What is a region?
1. Space and region in (world) history
It depends on who you ask, there is no consensus about what it is.
The ‘spatial turn’ in history (rediscovery of the past, a development)
- Increasingly influential within historiography since about 20 years
- Tries to overcome 2 tendencies
- 1. Space is not just the container for historical change, but
something more important
- 2. Space is not (only) an absolute concept: history is not determined
by space as the only explanation ground. It can not be measured, its
very relative. These are the 2 new messages.
How can we understand space as a product of historical development. How
does space determine social relations. How do people look at space?
- “HISTORICAL PROCESSES CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD AS THEY
LITERALLY TAKE PLACE, UNFOLDING ACROSS PARTICULAR
LANDSCAPES AN INFLUENCED BY THE OBDURATE REALITIES OF THE
PHYSICAL WORLD. CORRESPONDINGLY, THE SPATIAL PATTERNS OF
THE GEOGRAPHER’S PURVIEW CAN BE CONSIDERED
COMPREHENSIBLE ONLY AS EXAMINED THROUGH THEIR HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT
So he says that geography needs history and visa versa. Mutual
dependency.
A constructivist understanding of space: Henri Lefebvre (1901-
1991):
- French philosopher and sociologist, marxist
- Focus on urban cities and studies of everyday life
- Strongly influenced by 1968 student movement and marxism
- 1974: La production de L’espace
- Produced a lot of work. Tried to address the product from aspect of
space. He says space is historical; you cannot understand it outside
of history. It is also not absolute according to him, but produced by
society themselves, so always a product of society. Third, society
, produces space al the time, so space is temporary, they redefine it
all the time. Fourth: production of space is a notion of social space,
so connected to communication and its a together thing. It's always
a result of communication and exchange so a social space from
communication.
Technologies important impact in our knowledge of space. Space and
regions don’t mean the same to everyone, so connected to power
relations. We need to consider physical space as well
John Tomaney, different understanding of regions
Regions are ‘historically contingent social constructions’, so made from
communications and social space and social interactions. Contingent
means they depend on history and always contemporary, it changes
always.
His questions:
- Where do regions come from? So historical
- Is region a construction of scholars or were people in history aware
of living in regions? Did they think about it or is it our construction
block from today?
- How did premodern empires relate to regions and other forms of
networks and connectivity. Some say its very modern.
- What is relation between regions and nation states?
- How have modern European empires determined ‘regions’?
- How do global processes since 1945 influence regions?
