Post-modernism in geography
Topic: Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Human Geography: Nature and Scope"
Meaning
Post-modernism in geography arose in the 1990s. It questioned grand generalisations, which are big universal theories claiming to explain human life everywhere. Instead, it said each place must be understood in its own local context. It links to feminist geography, post-colonial geography and the "cultural turn". Edward Soja's Postmodern Geographies (1989) is a key work. It was the latest stage in a long chain in which each new approach reacted against the one before it.
Example
A post-modern study of Dharavi in Mumbai would not just apply a general theory of slums. It would listen to local residents and study Dharavi's own crafts, small industries, communities and history.
Don't confuse with
- Spatial organisation (quantitative revolution): it searched for general laws that work everywhere. Post-modernism rejects such universal laws and puts local context first.