Space, Place and Contemporary Culture

Module code: SY3093

This module seeks to explore the concept of space and place in society, where these are largely either ignored or misinterpreted. There have been a variety of sociological interpretations of space and how we produce, use, abuse and contest it, and this module aims to bring these debates together. It provides you with the opportunity to produce your own conceptualisation of the spaces you inhabit, and with which you frequently interact.

Topics covered

• Auge, Simmel, Lefebvre, Harvey, Castells, Milgram, Jephcott and Soja
• The relationships between space, culture and subculture
• Issues surrounding spaces for sport, and the gentrification process that is associated here
• Contemporary debates related to space, place and consumption
• Processes through which space and place become sites for crime and deviance
• The creation of contested space
• The anthropological concept of non-place
• Interaction through virtual and network spaces
• Heritage
• Deindustrialisation
• Space and intersections with gender, class and ethnicity