Peter A. Jackson - Exploring Social Geography (Routledge Revivals)

Exploring Social Geography, first published in 1984, offers a challenging yet comprehensive introduction to the wealth of empirical research and theoretical debate that has developed in response to the advent of a social approach to the subject. The argument emphasises the essentially spatial structure of social interaction, and includes a succinct discussion of geographical research on segregation and interaction, which has combined numerical analyses and qualitative ethnographic field research. A distinctive view of social geography is adopted, inspired by the Chicago school of North American pragmatism, but also incorporating the formal sociological theories of Simmel and Weber.

Exploring Social Geography will be of value to students of urban geography in particular. However, it will also indicate a wide-ranging and distinctive perspective for all students of the social sciences with a special interest in debates concerning urban, ethnic, racial, anthropological and theoretical issues.

First published in 1984
by George Allen & Unwin Ltd

This edition first published in 2014 by Routledge
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1984 P. A. Jackson and S. J. Smith

The right of Peter Jackson and Susan J. Smith to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Publishers Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.

Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondence from those they have been unable to contact.

A Library of Congress record exists under LC control number: 83025732

ISBN 13: 978-0-415-74971-8 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-1-315-79590-4 (ebk)

Additional materials are available on the companion website at
http://www.routledge.com/books/series/Routledge_Revivals

P. A. Jackson & S. J. Smith, 1984.
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. No reproduction without permission. All rights reserved.

George Allen & Unwin (Publishers) Ltd,
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Allen & Unwin Inc.,
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First published in 1984

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Jackson, Peter
Exploring social geography.
1. Anthropo-geography
I. Title II. Smith, Susan J.
304.2 GF41
ISBN 0-04-301169-1
ISBN 0-04-301170-5 Pbk

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Jackson, Peter.
Exploring social geography.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Anthropo-geography. 2. Social interaction. 3. Sociology, Urban.
I. Smith, Susan (Susan J.) II. Title.
GF95.J33 1984 301 83-25732
ISBN 0-04-301169-1
ISBN 0-04-301170-5 (pbk.)

Set in 10 on 12 point Bembo by Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd., Gloucester, and printed in Great Britain by Biddies Ltd, Guildford, Surrey.

Our enthusiasm for writing this book was first kindled as a result of the problems which we encountered in the course of our early research as social geographers. Its origin carries clear implications, both positive and negative, for the kind of book that we have been able to write. On the positive side, our perspective is fresh and our engagement with the research literature correspondingly current. On the negative side, we lack the experience and balanced judgment which result from a lifetimes research and teaching.

We have not attempted to write a comprehensive synthesis of the whole field of social geography. We doubt, in fact, that such a volume could ever satisfactorily be written, and we are certainly wary of claiming that attainment for ourselves. Our aim instead has been to summarise the state of the art as we see it through our selective exploration of perspectives in social geography. We have already declared our preferred interpretation of society in the introduction to an edited collection of essays (Jackson & Smith 1981), and we retain allegiance to it in this volume. It is an interactionist perspective which aims to uncover how social structure is defined and maintained through social interaction, and which studies how social life is constituted geographically through the spatial structure of social relations.

Our illustrations are drawn primarily from the literature on segregation. This is not to deny the importance of other strong areas of research in British social geography in housing and in the study of social problems, for example. It merely reflects our own preoccupations and particular expertise. Nonetheless, we believe this literature is broad enough to exemplify the variety of theoretical perspectives considered here.

To repeat our disclaimer: this book is a preliminary statement of emerging ideas rather than a finished product resulting from years of intensive study and reflection. One of our main aims in writing it has been to make readily comprehensible a burgeoning research literature which even the ablest undergraduate sometimes finds impenetrable. Our choice of title is deliberate. It emphasises that we offer open-ended explorations within the broad field of social geography. We have tried to be challenging in presenting our own ideas and conclusions without being overly dogmatic. Additionally, we suggest a theoretical framework that can be used to organise the bewildering profusion of concepts, ideas and approaches which have come to characterise social geography in recent years.

We have tried to avoid being rhetorical by tying down our theoretical discussion to the practical details of current empirical research. Rather than attempting to be comprehensive, we have sought to range widely, providing detailed elaboration of selected key areas. Undoubtedly, gaps remain which will frustrate some readers but we believe that our framework is sufficiently flexible to guide those who seek to incorporate new or different ideas in their own explorations.

Commonly, the framework adopted for each chapter includes an expository theoretical section, followed by critical comments, and rounded off with examples which detail the application of particular theories to geographical research. , in particular, is intended to provide this type of practical substantiation for ideas running throughout the volume; those who are curious as to why it matters which philosophical and theoretical perspective is chosen might find that chapter a good place to begin reading this book.

While we are entirely responsible for the errors and omissions of our work, we would like to conclude this preface by acknowledging the help and inspiration of a number of people and institutions. We both undertook our doctoral research at Oxford University and were supervised by Ceri Peach, who allowed us considerable latitude to develop our own ideas, providing an appropriate balance of encouragement and criticism. We both moved from our undergraduate colleges in Oxford to complete our research at Nuffield College, which provided extremely pleasant working conditions and a highly stimulating intellectual environment. At Nuffield, too, we both enjoyed the friendship and critical acuity of Clyde Mitchell, whose thinking always seems to be at least one step ahead of our own. We have since both moved off to other institutions: to St Peters College, Oxford, and then to the University of California, Los Angeles, in one case, and to University College London, in the other. Each place has been generous to us in encouraging our continued collaboration, despite increasing geographical separation. We are also indebted to David Ley and John Western for their close reading of the manuscript which prompted changes in both style and substance. Finally, we would like to thank Richard Davidson, who drew the figures, and Roger Jones, our enthusiastic editor at Allen and Unwin.