Indifferent Boundaries
Spatial Concepts of Human Subjectivity

Kathleen Kirby

169 Pages

Paperback:
1996
ISBN 978-0-89862-572-1
Cat. #2572
Price: $17.95
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A provocative and illuminating work, Indifferent Boundaries explores the ways that concepts of subjectivity are vitally grounded in metaphors of and assumptions about space. Kathleen Kirby demonstrates how changes that have taken place in real and conceptual space from the Renaissance to the postmodern era have led to a critical rearticulation of the subject by feminist, psychoanalytic, and poststructuralist theorists, among others. Tracing changing ideas about the self--from the stable form of the Enlightenment individual to the postmodern sujet en procès appraises both the liberatory possibilities and the everyday cultural implications of the contemporary "space of the subject." This tenacious and substantive investigation of the lexicon of space sheds much needed light in previously dark corners of the poststructuralist edifice, and is certain to appeal to a broad, interdisciplinary audience.

The volume opens with a discussion of the proliferation of spatial language in current theoretical discourse. Kirby highlights the reformative powers of representation, proposing that the recent emphasis on space results from the praxis-oriented attempt of theory to reconcile the realms of language and reality. Elegantly reasoned chapters cover topics including:

Feminist theory and the politics of location
Renaissance versus postmodern practices of mapping
Freudian subjectivity and the twentieth century deterioration of space
Poststructural philosophy and the reconfiguration of the subject
The physical and psychic contours of gendered subjectivity

Throughout, Kirby critically evaluates the cultural implications of varying representations of subjectivity, skillfully navigating the increasingly permeable boundary between the individual self and the shared social and political landscape.

"This careful and yet passionate book clears a straightforward path through the complexities of contemporary debates about subjectivity and the "subject." Linking the idea of the "subject" to metaphors of space and spatiality, the work helps break the impasse in current theory by pushing psychoanalytical theory back towards the political. In a series of impressive geopolitical, historical, theoretical, and feminist readings, Kirby reasserts the texture of everyday life and its validity in opposition to the postculturalist rejection. Thus her work does nothing less than reclaim the political value of "experience." A powerful book, shot through with an autobiographical tone yet winningly argued, it will be of interest to anyone who has ever been frustrated by the gap between contemporary theory and everyday life."

-Paul Smith, George Mason University

"Fascinating....This book is a `must read' for all cultural geographers within and beyond the discipline." Ecumene "This is essential reading for anyone interested in the theory and politics of "the subject"....Kirby deepens our understanding of how transformations in concrete and psychic spaces have been interlinked facets of the cultural upheavals known as modernism and postmodernism. She makes a series of important and strategic interventions to influential theoretical debates for practical, political ends: to imagine alternative spaces of the gendered subject and everyday life. To a geographer, this is a deeply satisfying text, taking as seriously as it does the multiplicity of spaces and the distinctions as well as the interrelations between internal and external spaces, discursive and concrete geographies, and the psychic and the social. This is a book that works with space and against simplicity."

-Geraldine Pratt, University of British Columbia

"Anyone interested in the politics of space and subjectivity will find this an immensely rewarding, thought-provoking and invaluable read."

-Steve Pile, The Open University

Table of Contents

Introduction: Subjects in Space: Variations on a Theme

1. Defining the Space of the Subject: Investigating the Boundaries of Feminism

2. Lost in Space: Establishing the Limits of Identity

3. Freudian Fabrications: De-Forming Modern Spaces

4. Vertigo: Postmodern Spaces and the Politics of the Subject

5. Indecent Exposure: Redefining the Spaces of Gender

Conclusion: Re: Shaping Subjectivity

Audience

Indifferent Boundaries brings a fresh and bold perspective to central debates in psychoanalysis, philosophy, geography, sociology, cultural studies, literature, and gender studies. Scholars and students in these fields, as well as others interested in postmodernism and politics, will find it a welcome addition to their libraries.

Classroom Use

Because of its lucid prose, Indifferent Boundaries makes a perfect introductory text in courses where an overview of the role of space in social theory is taught to students.