Review of 'Space, Knowledge and Power: Foucault and Geography': J Crampton and S Elden (eds), Ashgate, ISBN 9780754646549

Abstract

Geographers seem to have been cautious about diving into the theoretical depths offered up by Foucault's texts. Jeremy Crampton and Stuart Elden's (eds) 'Space, Knowledge and Power' makes a significant contribution to geographical knowledge on Foucault and space by pushing the discipline out a little further into these exciting theoretical waters. Aiming to move debates relating to Foucault and spatiality to a 'new level' (p.1), the book builds on previous critiques by the editors (Elden, 2001; Crampton and Elden, 2006) that geographical engagement with Foucault has been problematically limited to the spatial shallows of 'the Panopticon' and 'Heterotopia'. Providing a start to addressing this deficiency, the book is guided by two aims. First, it seeks to provide an account of both Foucault's engagement with geographical concerns and geography's engagement with Foucauldian ideas. The second aim of the book is to provide new interventions and developments that continue these engagements.