《Low_Theory_of_space_place_2016》.pdf

Towards an anthropological theory of space and place* SETHA M. LOW Abstract This article takes a first step in linking anthropological analyses of the body in space (embodied space), the global/local power relations embedded in space (transnational /translocal space), the role of language and discourse in the transformation of space into place (meaning), and the material and metaphorical importance of architecture and urban design (the built envi- ronment). Embodied space, language and discourse, and transnational/ translocal spaces are discussed based on a brief review of the literature and then combined with the co-production (social production and social con- struction) model of space. A preliminary theory of space and place devel- oped for contemporary settings is explored and illustrated with examples drawn from ethnographic studies of gated communities in the United States and the plaza in Latin America. Keywords: space; place; embodiment; built environment; politics; archi- tecture, design. 1. Introduction This article begins with the question of why the concepts of ‘‘place’’ and ‘‘space,’’ central theoretical constructs in geography, pose such problems for anthropologists. One reason is that for ethnographers it is di‰cult to discuss ‘‘place’’ or ‘‘space’’ in a way that does not confine the inhabitants. Arjun Appadurai (1988) and Margaret Rodman (1985, 1992) correctly criticize ethnographic conceptions of place/space that provide taken-for- granted settings to situate their descriptions or reduce the ethnographic to ´ a locale that imprisons natives. As pointed out by Alberto Corsın Jime- nez, ‘‘natives’’