Social Constructionism & Femenist Geographies

Question 2

What incident is used as a metaphor for the three theoretical perspectives discussed in the chapter?

Answer 2

A grand piano found on a sandbar in Biscayne Bay, Miami, in 2011

This incident challenges assumed norms of beaches and nature, highlighting the construction of meaning through cultural discourses.

Question 3

What does Structuralism emphasize about meaning?

Answer 3

Meaning arises from linguistic and cultural structures

It suggests that meanings attributed to spaces and places are not intrinsic.

Question 4

Who is the pioneer of Structuralism and semiotics?

Answer 4

Ferdinand de Saussure

Question 5

Define ‘signifier’ and ‘signified’ in Structuralism.

Answer 5

Signifier: the word itself; Signified: the concept it refers to

Question 6

How do words gain meaning according to Structuralism?

Answer 6

Through their relation to other words

Question 7

What is a key concept in Structuralism that emphasizes oppositional relationships?

Answer 7

Binary Oppositions

Question 8

Who applied Structuralist ideas to culture, revealing universal human patterns?

Answer 8

Claude Lévi-Strauss

Question 9

What criticism did Structuralism face?

Answer 9

It was seen as overly rigid

Question 10

What does Poststructuralism argue about meaning?

Answer 10

Meaning is unstable, context-dependent, and shaped by power relations

Question 11

Who are the primary figures associated with Poststructuralism?

Answer 11

Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault

Question 12

What concept did Jacques Derrida introduce?

Answer 12

Deconstruction

Question 13

What does deconstruction critique?

Answer 13

The assumption that words directly represent reality

Question 14

According to Derrida, what is meant by ‘meaning is always deferred’?

Answer 14

Words gain meaning through relationships with other words, never fully stable

Question 15

What does Foucault argue about knowledge and power?

Answer 15

What we consider ‘truth’ is shaped by power structures

Question 16

Define ‘disciplinary power’ as explained by Foucault.

Answer 16

Modern power operates through surveillance and normalization

Question 17

What metaphor did Foucault use to illustrate societal control?

Answer 17

Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon

Question 18

How does Foucault’s theory influence geography?

Answer 18

It examines how space is controlled and shaped by discourse and power

Question 19

What does Postmodernism reject?

Answer 19

Grand narratives

Question 20

Name the three forms of Postmodernism.

Answer 20

• Postmodernism as Style
• Postmodernism as Epoch
• Postmodernist Theory and Method

Question 21

What is Baudrillard’s concept of hyperreality?

Answer 21

Representations replace reality

Question 22

What is an example of a postmodern city?

Answer 22

Los Angeles

Question 23

What are some expanded research methods embraced by geographers in Postmodernism?

Answer 23

• Discourse analysis
• Ethnography
• Film and popular culture analysis

Question 24

What does the case study of Rapa Nui demonstrate?

Answer 24

Different groups construct different narratives about the island

Question 25

What is the significance of the study on classroom surveillance in Scottish schools?

Answer 25

It shows how power operates through sound and visibility

Question 26

What does the research on Paris Plage illustrate?

Answer 26

How people perform beach culture despite the lack of an actual seaside

Question 27

What is the legacy of Poststructuralism and Postmodernism in contemporary geography?

Answer 27

They shape debates on identity, space, and knowledge production

Question 28

True or False: Poststructuralism and Postmodernism suggest that what we consider 'real' is constructed.

Answer 28

True

Question 30

What is phenomenology?

Answer 30

A philosophical approach focused on understanding human experience.

Question 31

Who originated phenomenology?

Answer 31

Edmund Husserl.

Question 32

What does phenomenology seek to explore?

Answer 32

How individuals perceive and make sense of the world around them.

Question 33

What is intentionality in phenomenology?

Answer 33

The idea that consciousness is always directed toward something.

Question 34

What is epoché in phenomenology?

Answer 34

Bracketing or removing biases and assumptions to analyze experience.

Question 35

What is the lifeworld according to Husserl?

Answer 35

The everyday world that shapes shared meanings and understandings.

Question 36

Which philosopher critiqued Husserl’s focus on consciousness?

Answer 36

Martin Heidegger.

Question 37

What concept did Maurice Merleau-Ponty introduce?

Answer 37

Embodiment.

Question 38

What does existential phenomenology emphasize?

Answer 38

Being-in-the-world.

Question 39

What is topophilia as discussed by Yi-Fu Tuan?

Answer 39

Emotional bonds between people and places.

Question 40

What is the focus of Edward Relph’s Place and Placelessness?

Answer 40

How people experience places as insiders or outsiders.

Question 41

What does situated knowledge recognize?

Answer 41

All knowledge is shaped by personal experiences and cultural contexts.

Question 42

What criticism did humanistic geography face?

Answer 42

Being overly subjective and universalizing experience.

Question 43

What is Actor-Network Theory (ANT)?

Answer 43

A theory emphasizing networks of relationships between human and non-human actors.

Question 44

Who is associated with the development of Non-Representational Theory?

Answer 44

Nigel Thrift.

Question 45

What does non-representational theory focus on?

Answer 45

Practices, embodiment, and affect.

Question 46

What does post-phenomenology critique?

Answer 46

The essentialist tendencies of classical phenomenology.

Question 47

What is the focus of Don Ihde’s post-phenomenology of technology?

Answer 47

How tools and technologies mediate human experience.

Question 48

Name one application of post-phenomenology in geography.

Answer 48

Research on beach experiences.

Question 49

What methods are used in studies applying post-phenomenology?

Answer 49

Participatory observation, diary-keeping, and video analysis.

Question 50

What shift does contemporary research emphasize in geography?

Answer 50

Embodied experience, relationality, and non-representational practices.

Question 51

True or False: Phenomenology is no longer relevant in contemporary debates.

Answer 51

False.

Question 52

Fill in the blank: Phenomenology remains a vital framework for understanding how humans engage with and make sense of the _______.

Answer 52

[world].