Space, Place, and Violence

Direct, interpersonal violence is a pervasive, yet often mundane feature of our day-to-day lives. Paradoxically, violence is both ordinary and extraordinary. Violence, in other words, is often hidden in plain sight. Space, Place, and Violence seeks to uncover that which is too apparent: to critically question both violent geographies and the geographies of violence. With a focus on direct violence, this book situates violent acts within the context of broader political and structural conditions. Violence, it is argued, is both a social and spatial practice. Adopting a geographic perspective, Space, Place, and Violence provides a critical reading of how violence takes place and also produces place. Specifically, four spatial vignettes home, school, streets, and community are introduced, designed so that students may think critically how race, sex, gender, and class inform violent geographies and geographies of violence.