Critical Perspectives from the Periphery

Abstract

The paper questions the ways in which the spaces and language of a "critical geography" are defined, calling for attention to the geographies of the production of (critical) geographical knowledge. It stresses, in particular, the need for a heightened sensitivity to context, for it is the context within which each of us lives and works that frames our realms of possibility for "critical" action, noting that an inclusive and decentred concept of critical space for the discipline could probably be more successful (and surely more "international") than a set of tentative mappings formulated within the traditional bastions of the production of geographical knowledge. Accordingly, the paper emphasises the need to valorise and recognise the workings of numerous diverse academic geographical "peripheries" and their role in forging the plural cultural and political identities of the discipline and, especially, the struggles of those who are permanently forced into the position of having to re-contextualise their work at the "edge" of several different communities (whether national or disciplinary). Finally, the paper suggests how such diversity can become the bacis of new critical praxes and strategies in academia and beyond.