Matthew R. Berry
Critical Geography
09/08/2020
Professor Simpson
Week Three Response: “Homeless/Global: Scaling Space”
1) The argument in this paper by Neil Smith is highlighted and outlined on page 6. To paraphrase, the author argues multiple different points. He argues that “the construction of geographical space is a primary means through which spatial differential ‘takes place’. What he is referring to is that utilizing geographical scale, local to global, is how differences between spaces are categorized. His next argument is that “an investigation of geographical scale might therefore provide us with a more plausible language of spatial difference.” What he means by that is that by looking like an analyzing these occurrences of differentiation, that we can better understand and have a more stable ground underneath us to delve into these spatial differences analytically. His third point, “construction of scale is a social process,” means that our understanding and ways of viewing the world through geographic means are constructed by us, humans. We, especially through capitalism, express the world through different understandings of space, of which we construct. His final point is that “the production of geographical scale is the site of politically intense political struggle.” The final point is the tangible point that gives way to the everyday struggles witnessed in the country right now.
2) The connections I made during reading this correlate very much to current events happening across our country. The construction of geographical space, especially as a political means, has occurred throughout the summer of unrest across the country. Looking at places like Seattle, with its Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, where protestors took over areas in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, instituting its own rules and acting as a safe place for individuals who identified with the movement and against systems of oppression for black people in this country. Another example, stemming from the same movement, is the focus and clampdown by federal officers in Portland, which were in defense of the federal courthouse in the city. The federal government, using space as its justification, reacted harshly to protestors of the Black Lives Matter movement through means of force and arguably unconstitutional means. This piece ties directly in with current events by providing a backbone to real world occurrences.
3) P. 101 “It is geographical scale that defines the boundaries and bounds the identities around which control is exerted and contested.” This statement resonated with me and I highlighted it accordingly. These differences in geographic scale of space are exactly what so many conflicts over social power are waged. I think of your angry neighbor disliking your tree growing over its fence and argues to lop off the branch. I also think of outdoorsmen and women, fishermen, and Native Alaskans lobbying for defense by the national scale of the Trans-Boundary fishing disputes occurring, due to mines on the Canadian side of the border. From local to national, these scales are what are fiercely fought over.
4) What are ways to articulate this to an individual without a collegiate geographic background? How can we connect this to COVID? Now that we understand this, how to we apply this important understanding to how we read the news?
Hi Matt, I liked your response to Homeless/Global Scaling Space. You had good examples to apply Smiths essay to some issues we face right in 2020 nationally and right here in Alaska. With COVID I feel it threatens many people's sense of space globally and perhaps that is a main factor why people are scared of it.
ReplyDeleteHey Matt, as you point out I think that Smith's historic examples, such as Tompkin's Square Park, resonate pretty deeply with our current events (CHOP, etc) and how spaces can be an interactive stage for political movements and cultural shifts. I believe Smith refers to this kind of urban stage as an 'inscription' of the city. With your example of CHOP and the BLM movement, I'm sure many of us have seen and continue to see these movements be villainized and overwhelmingly inaccurately portrayed by the news. It makes me wonder how this construction of space can be interpreted and how the geographies of news and media (if those are a thing...I'm just spitballin') can strategically manipulate the stage as a weapon, and be so willing to. (I'm aware there are a lot of other factors--$$--involved here, just a thought).
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to streamlining these intricate claims from collegiate to conversational, I think back to our Lit&Envi class with Kevin and hear him saying that we should consider the stories we tell and the tensions that abound. Maybe the answer lies in simply ooking back on geographic histories and making connections, kind of like that short film 'How Movies Prepared us for Coronavirus.' I don't have a solid answer for you here, because it sometimes seems like *spoiler alert, we aren't prepared and we don't necessarily learn.
Great response and thank you.
After sleeping on it, I want to amend my statement that we 'don't necessarily learn.' I think that it's reductive and diminishes the helpful responses, support, and technologies that have been created as a response after, for example, catastrophes or other hazards.
DeleteMatt, Excellent points of focus and great connections to contemporary issues at large. Thinking about the production of scale as an intense site of political struggle is something very valuable to us today. Continue to apply these theories to the news and to the events happening in your community and in the world. In the communities that you are immediately apart of, in what ways do you see scale being fought for and resisted? Your fourth point is a crucial one. What language do we have to think through these tensions? Here, we may be reminded of Marx in the German Ideology, and the various ways we have been looking at case studies. Last week we identified that the material object mediates the mode of production and the individual. So begin to collect objects, spaces, and events that speak this connection. Patel and Moore try to do that with sugar in their opening pages. Schivelbusch looks to the railroad as a mediator. But How can we do it with the street, or with a piece of clothing? Or with anything really. As we move forward, do keep an eye on the style of writing, and how some authors look to answer this question of audience presentation in a direct way.
ReplyDelete