Mapping the Present: Heidegger, Foucault and the Project of a Spatial History

Description

"Mapping the Present" assesses the relationship between Foucault and Heidegger, particularly on the issue of space and history. It suggests that space and history need to be rethought, and combined as a spatial history, rather than as a history of space. In other words, space should become not merely an object of analysis, but a tool of analysis. The first half of the book concentrates on Heidegger: from the early occlusion of space, through the politically charged readings of Nietzsche and H0lderlin, to the later work on art, technology and the polis. Foucault's work is then rethought through Heidegger, and the project of a spatial history established through re-readings of his works on madness and discipline

Stuart Elden is a Professor of Political Geography at Durham University.

"Offers a powerful reinterpretation of Foucault and reveals the frequently neglected significance of the work of Heidegger to Foucault's intellectual project. Mapping the Present provides analytically rigorous yet accessible reinterpretations of relevant works of both Foucault and Heidegger and demonstrates the crucial importance of spatial relations in the exercise of modern forms of power."--Barry Smart "A marvellous book--critical and generous, clear and sophisticated, wise and witty. For those interested in the project of a spatial history, Elden has opened up wholly new ways of thinking about (and working with) Heidegger and Foucault that are alert to the philosophical and theoretical complexities of their writings and to the political and ethical responsibilities of a history of the present."--Derek Gregory "...excellent study...It is a rich and complex book, which is at once an interpretation of Heidegger and Foucault, an argument for the importance of Heidegger for understanding Foucault and a forceful case for the claim that Foucault's Nietzsche is a Nietzsche mediated by Heidegger...it is an amazing book in the sense that it can handle such a variety of topics, and thinkers and issues and so many layers of argument in a concise, readable and yet immaculate manner. Stuart Elden is a master of brevity. The main body of the book is supplemented by nearly fifty pages of notes and an excellent bibliography that will be of great help to those who want to pursue the issues of their interest further, leaving the book accessible to the 'general' reader." -- The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, 2005 -- The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy