Revista Colombiana de Sociología (Jan 2015)
Thinking of citizenship education in a spatial key. A comprehensive reading of David Harvey and Doreen Massey
Abstract
As its initial goal, the present article aims to reflect on the analytical and conceptual potentialities of the spatial theory of Doreen Massey and David Harvey with regard to an analysis of citizenship education and the construction of subjectivities in schools. For this purpose, this article reviews the concepts of space and spatiality that the authors propose in two of their most representative works: The Condition of Postmodernity (Harvey, 2003) and World City (Massey, 2008). In the manner of an introduction and background, we comment on some of the conceptual suggestions of the French philosopher Henri Lefebvre, who takes an interesting phenomenological approach to the concept of space, its representations, and the experiences lived by subjects. This approach, in one way or another, can be perceived in authors such as Milton Santos and Edward Soja. Thus, as our point of departure, we adopt a premise that can serve as both the articulating axis and the central idea of the present article; we find the social use of territory, and not territory per se, relevant for socio-spatial analysis. This idea is present in Milton Santos, in addition to Henri Lefebvre, Edward Soja, and the other authors whom we address. Next, we succinctly present some observations and records taken from the pedagogical practice of the author of the article with students from various levels attending the Olarte Rural Educational Center in the neighborhood of Usme in Bogotá. These records are part of the students’ representations and conceptions regarding lived space. The information presented does not intend to follow a particular method of analysis but is linked to reflection to illustrate the application of the concepts of the two authors studied in school contexts. In this manner, we can approach the two conceptual contexts, school-space, and thus understand the possibilities of a dynamic political exercise in the school, constructing subjectivities and respect for difference and diversity.
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