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.