[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-149582-en":3,"doc-seo-149582-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},149582,2336475104362,"Mali","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c46a41b752dd?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786595829695023868",2,"Literature","On Space and Spatial Practice in Contemporary Geography - spatial conceptions of space in geography","An opening essay examines how “space” becomes difficult to define in contemporary geography, contrasting competing notions such as real vs. perceived, phenomenal vs. behavioral, and ideal vs. material space. It argues that confusion persists because students often treat space as relevant only to abstract theory, rather than to the practices of geographers. A better approach is proposed by tracing how spatial notions are embedded in geographical work. The text outlines four long-lived families of spatial conceptions in Western thought and explains how current school traditions embody these conceptions.","# Concepts in Human Geography\n\nEdited by  \nCarville Earle,  \nKent Mathewson,  \nand  \nMartin S.Kenzer  \n# On Space and Spatial Practice inContemporary Geography\n\nMichael R.Curry  \nWhen first confronted with the literature on the nature of space,the new stu-dent finds a bewildering set of apparent alternatives.There is real space andperceived space,there is phenomenal space and behavioral space,there is idealspace and material space.Within the confines of this group of broader andcontrasting conceptions,there appear to be another set of related contrasts,ofplace,region,site,location,locale,and situation;hence,we might have a viewof the nature of the region within a material,an ideal,or a phenomenal viewof space.Complicating the matter further,some students of space have sug-gested that we need in addition to attend to the language used in discussingspace.Is it seen as a container or a network or a grid?The language used,thesestudents assert,reveals deeper commitments to one of the views listed above.Finally,making matters even more complex is the fact that many of those ad-vancing theories today about the nature of space maintain that they are thefirst to have done so and that previous works either did not exist or were sim-pleminded excursions in reportage.The matter already seemed difficult,butit now appears worse;we cannot even be sure where the landmarks are.  \nIn several ways,then,the student of the concept of space in geography findsa difficult and confusing situation.We can chalk this confusion up in part todisciplinary politics-one group's dismissal of another may just be a matter ofits wish to assert its dominance;but I suggest that there is a second reason forthe confusion.Many have not asked,and more find it difficult to answer,avery basic question:Where in the thinking and practicing of geography might  \nspace be an issue?Instead,they have tended to imagine that the concept ofspace is important when it comes to the construction of theories and nowhereelse.  \nThis view,in turn,has come to be incorporated into the history of the dis-cipline,so that it has become common to imagine that one can understandthe ways in which the concept of space has been used in the discipline sim-ply by looking at the theories that geographers have advanced about the na-ture of space.True,in the last few years some have begun to argue that weneed to look beyond explicit theorizations and to the assumptions about spaceimplicit elsewhere within empirical works.This,however,is less of a changethan it might first appear,because it still assumes that the place of space in ge-ography is in theory.This,in turn,suggests that before embarking on a re-search project the geographer needs to make a series of fundamental decisionsabout which conceptions to adopt.  \nThis appears to leave the geographer with an insurmountable task.How dowe choose which of these conceptions and approaches to adopt?How do weargue in favor of this or that conception?How do we do so without implicitlyappealing to some set of unexamined spatial notions?Indeed,this way ofthinking about the place of space within geography,and within science moregenerally,appears to leave us quite at sea.  \nAbetter approach to understanding the place of space in geography is surelyneeded,and I suggest that a better approach will be one that attends to theways in which spatial notions are imbricated in the practices in which geog-raphers engage.In fact,when we recast the matter in this way,the number ofoptions diminishes dramatically;it turns out to be possible to understand thepractice of geography as operating within only four families of spatial notionsIt turns out,moreover,that these are long-lived notions;the oldest were codi-fied some two thousand years ago;we can see the newest in a recognizableform as far back as two hundred years ago.  \nI begin by characterizing the ways in which,over the last two thousandyears,these alternative conceptions of space have developed within Westernthought.T","cbCaiaG7u5v9G2kO","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaG7u5v9G2kO","pdf",3163879,1,17,"English","en",105,"# On Space and Spatial Practice in Contemporary Geography\n## On Conceptions of Space","[{\"question\":\"Why does the concept of space feel confusing for new students in geography?\",\"answer\":\"The literature presents many competing alternatives (e.g., real vs. perceived; ideal vs. material), and students also face debates about the language used to discuss space and about whether earlier work existed or was simplistic.\"},{\"question\":\"What problem does the text identify in how geography treats space?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that many imagine space matters primarily when constructing theories, rather than as something embedded in the actual practices through which geographers work.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the text propose understanding the role of space in geography?\",\"answer\":\"It recommends focusing on how spatial notions are imbricated in geographical practices, then characterizing the long-lived families of spatial conceptions that underpin schools of thought.\"}]","On Space and Spatial Practice in Contemporary Geography - spatial conceptions of space in geography | PDF",1787803533,26,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":28},"on-space-and-spatial-practice-in-contemporary-geography-spatial-conceptions-of-space-in-geography","",{"@graph":36,"@context":84},[37,53,67],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,47,50],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":48,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":49},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":52},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/on-space-and-spatial-practice-in-contemporary-geography-spatial-conceptions-of-space-in-geography/149582/",4,{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":41,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-27",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"Why does the concept of space feel confusing for new students in geography?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"The literature presents many competing alternatives (e.g., real vs. perceived; ideal vs. material), and students also face debates about the language used to discuss space and about whether earlier work existed or was simplistic.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"What problem does the text identify in how geography treats space?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"It argues that many imagine space matters primarily when constructing theories, rather than as something embedded in the actual practices through which geographers work.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"How does the text propose understanding the role of space in geography?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"It recommends focusing on how spatial notions are imbricated in geographical practices, then characterizing the long-lived families of spatial conceptions that underpin schools of thought.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":86,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":91},[92,96,99,103,108,113,118,123,128,131,135],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},80,"literature",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":104,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]