Purpose
The purpose of the Space and Place Initiative is to develop new interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to understanding--in a wide variety of historical and geographical settings and at a number of spatial scales, from the global to local:

...the social production and cultural meaning of landscape and the built environment

...the visualization and representation of situated knowledge

...the public policy implications of boundaries and other territorial markers to migration, service provision and resource allocation.

Rationale
Place and space have long been central constructs within geography, archaeology, architecture and landscape architecture. These disciplines have also traditionally emphasized spatial thinking, visualization, and the use of non-linear and conceptual modes of representation (maping, drawing, and model building). Until quite recently, however, other academic disciplines rarely studied space and place. If architectural design, settlement layout, or the visual character of a region or place were discussed, it was normally to ‘set the stage’ for a local, regional or national case study. They did not usually consider spatial patterns, the meanings that groups and individuals attach to landscape and built environment, and spatial modes of problem solving.

This situation has not changed. Due largely to the pan-disciplinal influence of a number of philosophers and social scientists who infuse questions of space and place into their work (scholars such as Michel Foucault, Henri LeFebvre, Anthony Giddens, Pierre Bourdieau, Walter Benjamin, Michel de Certeau, Martin Heidegger, Jurgen Habermas, and Gaston Bachelard), anthropologists, historians, political scientists, economists, sociologists and literary critics now consider the possible roles that space and place can play in problem and theory formulation, research design, writing, and teaching.

The members of our initiative at SU and SUNY-ESF see an explosion of interest in space and place occurring on our Syracuse, New York; campus. While many of us base our research on a shared theoretical literature, there nevertheless exist profound differences in how we each engage it. We have also been somewhat ignorant of work done on space and place outside of our home disciplines. The Space and Place Initiative thus serves as a way for faculty, students, and professional practitioners from many fields to mutually explore a common theoretical base, get past disciplinal parochialism, and recharge our home disciplines with a broader set of methodologies. Given our interdisciplinary commitment and spatially extensive set of empirical regional specialties-covering Africa, the Americas, Australia, Europe, and Asia--it is indeed fitting that the Moynihan Institute of the Maxwell School of Syracuse University serves as our international home.

Activities
In 2002 our Space and Place Speaker and Workshop Series highlights the theme of “Cognitive Mappings and Situated Knowledge.” Guest speakers and workshop participants from off-campus will be invited to join an “Invisible College of Space and Place.” The Invisible College helps students and faculty build lasting interdisciplinary networks external to the Syracuse University / SUNY-ESF campus that can be drawn upon when forming student committees, writing grant proposals, and undertaking interdisciplinary research. In Fall 2002, we will also offer a team-taught graduate seminar entitled “Space and Place: Toward Interdisciplinary Theory and Practice” and launch collaborative outreach projects related to housing/home/homelessness, tourism, grassroots urban planning, and sustainable economic development and indigenous land claims.

Eligibility
Any SU or SUNY-ESF student, faculty or staff member with an active research or teaching interest in space and place is invited to join. We also welcome scholars and professional practitioners from elsewhere to become members of the “Invisible College of Space and Place.” Please contact Co-Director Deborah Pellow or Co-Director Anne Mosher if you are interested in participating.

Prospective Students
Intersted in coming to SU/ESF to join The Space and Place Initiative at the graduate level? You should apply first for entry into one of the participating academic programs. Please indicate in your application that you are interested in the Space and Place Initiative. For application information, visit the SU or SUNY-ESF graduate programs websites:

http://gradsch.syr.edu
http://www.esf.edu/admissions/graduate/.