Samfunnsgeografi: Perspektiver og prosesser

Overview & Synopsis

Human geography examines the spatial dimensions of society. This book offers an introduction to the discipline’s intellectual history and its core concepts – including space, place, scale, territory and networks – alongside overviews of the key sub-fields and research themes that shape human geographic research today. The chapters are written by 24 human geographers based in Norway, who use spatial perspectives to analyse societal processes. The book introduces the reader to a discipline that takes the whole world as its field of inquiry. You are introduced, among other topics, to interactions between nature and society, the production of uneven development, urban-rural dynamics, transformations in political governance, and the mobility of people and goods. Students of human geography will develop their geographical imagination and learn to recognise the significance of spatial perspectives in the society they live in. The book is illustrated with examples and references relevant to Norwegian students while firmly anchored in the international research frontier. The chapters also help develop a precise Norwegian disciplinary language, with references to English technical terms that facilitate further reading and literature searches. The book is organised into three parts. Part A presents the foundations of the discipline: core spatial concepts, the history of human geography, and its methodological approaches. Part B introduces major sub-disciplines and thematic research areas, while Part C offers concise introductions to many of the central processes studied in human geography today. These range from regional development and circular economies to autocratisation and urban planning, as well as newer geographical perspectives, such as queer (in)visibility, embodied knowledge and transnational practices. «Samfunnsgeografi: Perspektiver og prosesser» is a further development of the textbook «Samfunnsgeografi: En innføring» (2017). While primarily aimed at students at an introductory level, the book will also be valuable for graduate students and established researchers, as well as for geographically minded practitioners outside academia.