Description
For decades, Milton Santos (1926-2001) has been considered one of the most influential thinkers in Brazilian and Latin American social sciences and geography. Yet his writings, most of which have not been translated into English, are largely unknown to European and North American audiences. This book introduces English-speaking scholars to Professor Santos through critical engagement with his ideas and writings. The chapters presented here reveal the breadth and originality of his critical thought, as well as its ongoing importance to contemporary debates.The book features a biography of Santos and includes an annotated translation of one of his most-cited texts, The Return of the Territory, offered here for the first time in English. This text demonstrates how Santos’s provocative insights continue to transform core concepts of political and human geography. The book also includes a number of short chapters written by scholars from Brazil, Spain and France. Through reflections on Santos’s work, the various authors demonstrate the value and possibilities of extending the geographer’s theories. They explore key geographical themes across politicaleconomy, rural studies, territorial planning, environmental crisis, digital networks, indigenous peoples, transportation and public health. This collection invites geographers from around the world to engage with this rich intellectual tradition from Brazil.
Table of Contents
Milton Santos and the Centrality of the Periphery.- Technical-scientific-informational Milieu, Networks and Territories.- How can Santos's Theory and Concepts Help us to Better Understand Third World Dynamics and Problems?- Psychosphere and Technosphere: Complex Relations in the Hospital Realm.- The Political Economy of Territory and Agribusiness in Brazil.- Territorial Planning in Brazil: An Interpretation Based on the Ideas of Milton Santos.- Rethinking Federalism from the Work of Milton Santos.- Milton Santos’s Contribution to Understanding the Transformations Underway at Modern Agricultural Frontiers.- Geography and Indigenous Peoples: Milton Santos and the Richness of the Present Time.- Milton Santos’s Thought and the Logic of Environmental Conservation in the Contemporary Period.- Environmental Crisis Seen through the Theories of Milton Santos.
