New anthology about how history is shaped by spaces and places

The book’s editors are Magnus Rodell and Leif Runefelt from Södertörn University’s School of Historical and Contemporary Studies. It gathers essays in the field of cultural history that focus on how places, environments and spatial contexts influence people’s actions and perceptions.

“Places and spaces have become the subject of growing interest in recent decades in history and other research in the humanities. Previously, they were often seen as static or were taken somewhat for granted,” says Magnus Rodell, senior lecturer in the history of ideas.

This shift in perspective is often described as “the spatial turn”, where research has a greater focus on how spaces and places actively influence historical events.

“Just as it is obvious that all human creation and actions have occurred over time, they have also taken place, so we can see how this familiar expression captures something of historic importance,” says Leif Runefelt, professor of the history of ideas.

Wide selection of essays

The anthology provides historical examples of spatiality: one chapter shows how 19th-century street music caused conflicts over urban public spaces, as the emerging middle class attempted to regulate noise and order. Other sections of the book describe disputes among the German-Baltic bourgeoisie over bathing areas and nudity around the turn of the 20th century, as well as how, in the 1970s, the media helped to turn the urban periphery into a symbol of insecurity.

The analyses extend to the present day where, during the US opioid crisis, activists utilised art museums such as the Guggenheim as venues to protest against pharmaceutical companies.

Spaces are more than scenery

As a whole, the book’s chapters demonstrate how spaces are not simply backdrops for history, but are central to the formation of ideas, power and societies – and are thus vital to humanities research.

“The way in which someone in Renaissance Florence experienced their spatial context differs from how someone experiences their surroundings in Stockholm of the 2020s. Through this anthology, we want to show how spaces and places must always be understood and situated within their historical contexts.”

The anthology is published by Södertörn University as part of the series Södertörn Studies in Intellectual and Cultural History (no. 12).