A geography of preposition: book review essay inspired by Christian Abrahamsson (2018) Topoi/Graphein: Mapping the Middle in Spatial Thought

Philo, C. (2020) A geography of preposition: book review essay inspired by Christian Abrahamsson (2018) Topoi/Graphein: Mapping the Middle in Spatial Thought. Geografiska Annaler. Series B: Human Geography, 102(2), pp. 214-231. (doi: 10.1080/04353684.2020.1770116)

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Abstract

This is an extended book review essay considering Christian Abrahamsson’s impressive 2018 monograph Topoi/Graphein: Mapping the Middle in Spatial Thought. It argues that, rather than addressing ‘a geography of position’, this work explores ‘a geography of preposition’, showing how topographies of position (of identities, peoples and places in the world) are always inextricably shaped by topologies of preposition, elsewhere termed ‘the shapes of thought’. The essay inquires into the intellectual framings of this ‘prepositional geophilosophy’, noting what it owes to Gunnar Olsson, the Swedish geographer, but also suggesting that its most distinctive moves are prompted by Michel Serres, the French philosopher. The abstract geometries of Olsson and the patchwork topologies of Serres mark complementary, if occasionally tensioned, ‘passages’ into the prepositional landscapes that Abrahamsson navigates through topoi (‘topics’) subjected to his graphein (‘writing’). The essay emphasizes the scholarly and ethico-political significance of this compelling new addition to the literature of human geography and related fields.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Philo, Professor Christopher
Authors: Philo, C.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
Journal Name:Geografiska Annaler. Series B: Human Geography
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:0435-3684
ISSN (Online):1468-0467
Published Online:29 May 2020
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2020 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
First Published:First published in Geografiska Annaler. Series B: Human Geography 102(2):214-231
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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