The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com , has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license Through a variety of empirical studies, this volume offers fresh insights into the manner in which different forms of communicative action transform urban space. With attention to the methodological questions that arise from the attempt to study such changes empirically, it offers new theoretical foundations for understanding the social construction and reconstruction of spaces through communicative action. Seeing communicative action as the basic element in the social construction of reality and conceptualizing communication not only in terms of the use of language and texts, but as involving any kind of objectification, such as technologies, bodies and non-verbal signs, it considers the roles of both direct and mediatized (or digitized) communication. An examination of the conceptualization of the communicative (re-)construction of spaces and the means by which this change might be empirically investigated, this book demonstrates the fruitfulness of the notion of refiguration as a means by which to understand the transformation of contemporary societies. As such, it will appeal to sociologists, social theorists, and geographers with interests in social construction and urban space.

This is the first book addressing explicitly and specifically the methodological issues of relational sociology, and more broadly of the new relational paradigm in social sciences. The dynamically developing relational movement in social and cultural sciences is fueled by various classical and contemporary theoretical inspirations. Relational approaches propose various models of relational analyses, such as field analysis, social space analysis, network analysis, or the critical realist relational heuristic. The relational turn, which promotes interdisciplinarity in research, simultaneously reflects the drive towards an innovative reconstruction of sociology. Contemporary relational sociology is at the forefront of the relational movement. The program of relational sociology is still being shaped, frequently becoming the subject of discussions with different standpoints expressed. The aim of this book is to reflect on various relational approaches and models of relational analysis. Answers to two basic questions are sought: Are there foundations for a methodological unity of relational sociology, despite the diversity of approaches? And does relational sociology form a new paradigm? To answer these questions, it is necessary to investigate differences between the relational paradigm and the earlier, competing sociological paradigms. The answers to key questions show what innovations the methodology of relational sociology brings, i.e. what are the methodological consequences of the relational concept of the social fact. The broadly defined horizon of methodological issues is presented. The book creates an open space for discussion on various approaches and varieties of relational analysis, as well as the possibility of their methodological synthesis within relational sociology.

Listening, experiencing, drawing or interpreting spaces: narratives, experiences, visualizations and discourses can be helpful for the empirical investigation of spaces. This interdisciplinary handbook presents a broad spectrum of established methods and innovative method development to capture and understand different facets of spaces. Instructive explanations and concrete examples make the varied qualitative methods of spatial research understandable and applicable across disciplines. The theoretical and methodological aspects of qualitative spatial research form the framework of this handbook.

Considering Space demonstrates what has changed in the perception of space within the social sciences and how useful – indeed indispensable – this category is today. While the seemingly deterritorializing effects of digitalization might suggest that space is a secondary consideration, this book proves such a presumption wrong, with territories, borders, distances, proximity, geographical ecologies, land use, physical infrastructures – as well as concepts of space – all being shown still to matter, perhaps more than ever before. Seeking to show how society can and should be perceived as spatial, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, geography, architecture and urban studies.

Symbols matter, and especially those present in public spaces, but how do they exert influence and maintain a hold over us? Why do such materialities count even in the intensely digitalized culture? This book considers the importance of urban symbols to political revolutions, examining manifold reasons for which social movements necessitate the affirmation or destruction of various material icons and public monuments. What explains variability of life cycles of certain classes of symbols? Why do some of them seem more potent than others? Why do people exhibit nostalgic attachments to some symbols of the controversial past and vehemently oppose others? What nourishes and threatens the social life of icons? Through comparative analyses of major iconic processes following the epochal revolution of 1989 in Berlin and Warsaw, the book argues that revolutionary action needs objects and sites which concretize the transformative redrawing of the symbolic boundaries between the "sacred" and "profane," good and evil, before and after, and "progressive" and "reactionary"—the symbolic shifts that every revolution implies in theory and formalizes in practice. Public symbols ensconced within actual urban spaces provide indispensable visibility to human values and social changes. As affective topographies that externalize collective feelings, their very presence and durability is meaningful, and so are the revolutionary rituals of preservation and destruction directed at those spaces. Far from being mere gestures or token signifiers, they have their own gravity with profound cultural ramifications. This volume will appeal to sociologists, anthropologists, geographers, and social theorists with interests in urban studies, public heritage, material culture, political revolution, and social movements.

This edited volume scrutinises the Nordic dimension within education and how this notion affects, frames and sets direction for school and education in policy, practice and educational research. The book interrogates what unites and divides Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and analyses how the notion of the Nordic dimension has become conceptualised and institutionalised in different educational settings. Comparative studies of national education policies and practice across these five small North European countries – and Scotland as a case beyond – explore how the Nordic dimension relates to national, regional and transnational collaborations. Further, the book queries the degree to which what are typically considered Nordic approaches to social welfare, gender equality, diversity and international outlook have, in actual fact, affected education. Ultimately, the book explores the realities and myths associated with the idea of the Nordic dimension, and in relation to the wider context of integration within the European region. The book will be of interest to researchers, scholars and postgraduate students working in international and comparative education; education policy and politics; teaching and learning; and in European cultural studies.

Urban linguistic landscapes reflect and create sociolinguistic, societal and urban dynamics. This book explores these relations scientifically and, focusing on the linguistic landscapes of selected cities in northern and southern Europe, sheds light on how urban areas with diverse profiles differ, and how linguistic landscapes change through tourism and migration, or in times of crisis. The book puts forward sophisticated and novel ways of approaching urban sociolinguistics and enhances understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced when studying sociolinguistic variation in these linguistic landscapes. This book is targeted especially at scholars in the field of urban sociolinguistics wishing to approach the subject through the lens of linguistic landscapes. It also raises interesting points to anyone involved in language planning and policy reflection, as well as those engaged in urban redevelopment planning. Last but not least, it offers theoretical and methodological guidance to students and researchers in a wider variety of disciplines.