Is There Space for “Real Space” in British Civilisation Studies?
This paper starts from two premises. First, interdisciplinary studies are those in which researchers draw on several academic disciplines with different research paradigms in such a way that they are faced with the challenge of crossing subject boundaries in order to create new knowledge and theory....
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Centre de Recherche et d'Etudes en Civilisation Britannique
2019-03-01
|
| Series: | Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/2887 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850172319022972928 |
|---|---|
| author | Susan Ball |
| author_facet | Susan Ball |
| author_sort | Susan Ball |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper starts from two premises. First, interdisciplinary studies are those in which researchers draw on several academic disciplines with different research paradigms in such a way that they are faced with the challenge of crossing subject boundaries in order to create new knowledge and theory. Second, a “spatial turn” has been identified across the field of humanities and social sciences. Based on these premises, British civilisation studies - as an interdisciplinary domain - can be expected to have undergone a spatial turn and to have engaged with the paradigms of human geography on space. Using a sample of articles published in previous issues of the French Journal of British Studies, this article points to the socio-spatial dialectic of British civilisation studies in France. It then goes on to examine the terms on which research in British civilisation studies has engaged with human geography over the last 20 years. It is argued that alongside a spatial turn, the cultural turn in both human geography and British civilisation studies has played an important role in framing how researchers have addressed the dialectical relationship between space and society. One consequence of this has been that - rather than viewing space as a structure created by society - researchers all too frequently merely represent space as a context for society. In the conclusions it is argued that British civilisation studies’ long standing concern with the dynamic processes of social, economic and political relations may lead researchers to address space in relation to these processes and – in turn - to develop a geographical imagination. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b008608366b44afc970d2bbbbc116c5d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0248-9015 2429-4373 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
| publisher | Centre de Recherche et d'Etudes en Civilisation Britannique |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique |
| spelling | doaj-art-b008608366b44afc970d2bbbbc116c5d2025-08-20T02:20:07ZengCentre de Recherche et d'Etudes en Civilisation BritanniqueRevue Française de Civilisation Britannique0248-90152429-43732019-03-0124110.4000/rfcb.2887Is There Space for “Real Space” in British Civilisation Studies?Susan BallThis paper starts from two premises. First, interdisciplinary studies are those in which researchers draw on several academic disciplines with different research paradigms in such a way that they are faced with the challenge of crossing subject boundaries in order to create new knowledge and theory. Second, a “spatial turn” has been identified across the field of humanities and social sciences. Based on these premises, British civilisation studies - as an interdisciplinary domain - can be expected to have undergone a spatial turn and to have engaged with the paradigms of human geography on space. Using a sample of articles published in previous issues of the French Journal of British Studies, this article points to the socio-spatial dialectic of British civilisation studies in France. It then goes on to examine the terms on which research in British civilisation studies has engaged with human geography over the last 20 years. It is argued that alongside a spatial turn, the cultural turn in both human geography and British civilisation studies has played an important role in framing how researchers have addressed the dialectical relationship between space and society. One consequence of this has been that - rather than viewing space as a structure created by society - researchers all too frequently merely represent space as a context for society. In the conclusions it is argued that British civilisation studies’ long standing concern with the dynamic processes of social, economic and political relations may lead researchers to address space in relation to these processes and – in turn - to develop a geographical imagination.https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/2887interdisciplinarityspaceBritish civilisation studiesgeographical imagination |
| spellingShingle | Susan Ball Is There Space for “Real Space” in British Civilisation Studies? Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique interdisciplinarity space British civilisation studies geographical imagination |
| title | Is There Space for “Real Space” in British Civilisation Studies? |
| title_full | Is There Space for “Real Space” in British Civilisation Studies? |
| title_fullStr | Is There Space for “Real Space” in British Civilisation Studies? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is There Space for “Real Space” in British Civilisation Studies? |
| title_short | Is There Space for “Real Space” in British Civilisation Studies? |
| title_sort | is there space for real space in british civilisation studies |
| topic | interdisciplinarity space British civilisation studies geographical imagination |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/2887 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT susanball istherespaceforrealspaceinbritishcivilisationstudies |