FOUCAULT’S GEOGRAPHY: A FRAMEWORK FOR GEOGRAPHY OF THE POSTMODERN AND GENEALOGY OF A WEDDING IN SARAJEVO
Goran Mutabddžija, University of East Sarajevo, Faculty of Philosophy, Pale, RS/BiH
Excerpt : This paper analyzes Foucault’s contribution to the development of geographical thinking by emphasizing the elements of his geoepistemology, the philosophical framework for the emergence of the postmodern and the genealogical method. It is essential because of the two issues we will address in this paper. The first refers to more precise definitions of the boundaries of modernity, the end of which some geographers link to the identification of three critical principles for the construction of postmodernism, namely: style, epoch, and method (Dear, 1988); an intensified attack on historicism in modern thought (Soja, 1989); with what is very difficult to define (Cloke et al., 1991) or with the emergence of neoliberalism (Peet, 1998). The second question refers to the indications of genealogical analysis on the example of the political-geographical significance of Sarajevo during the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995). To answer these questions, we will start from the geographer’s interest in Foucault’s geography. Then, based on Foucault’s reference works for geography and the mentioned studies, the importance of modern interpretation of space will be highlighted. Thus, the door of genealogical analysis in understanding contemporary historical-geographical political-geographical issues will be opened.
Keywords : Foucault, geoepistemology, modern, genealogy, Sarajevo.