Animated Lands: Studies in Territoriology(Cultural Geographies + Rewriting the Earth)

In Animated Lands Andrea Mubi Brighenti and Mattias KÄrrholm focus on territory as a living phenomenon-and territoriality as an active and constantly reshaping force. They explore the complexity of territorial production through a series of parallel investigations into fundamental territorial themes, such as rhythm, synchronization, melody, morphogenesis, and animism. The notion of territory is excavated through case studies including the analysis of urban playgrounds, homemaking, the transformations of urban walls, and the stabilization of peculiar building types such as the house-museum. These empirical examples span such cities as Ahmedabad, Amsterdam, London, and Rome. Animated Lands provides a broad introduction to what a theory of territories could be and how it could help to advance sociospatial studies.  

About the Author :
Andrea Mubi Brighenti is a professor of social theory at the University of Trento, Italy. He is the author of The Ambiguous Multiplicities: Materials, Episteme and Politics of Cluttered Social Formations. Mattias KÄrrholm is a professor of architectural theory at Lund University, Sweden. He is the author of Retailising Space: Architecture, Retail and the Territorialisation of Public Space.  

Review :
"Brighenti and Kārrholm offer unique insight into the concept of territory from their writing positions as professors of social and architectural theory, respectively. Each chapter introduces concepts that enrich our understanding of territory. Brighenti and Kārrholm not only trace out the intellectual legacy of different concepts and approaches that inspired their writing but provide empirical examples that illustrate and ground often abstract ideas."-Gordon Waitt, Social & Cultural Geography “Like Husserl, Freud, and other visionaries, Andrea Mubi Brighenti and Mattias KÄrrholm have discovered a new continent. With great erudition, a Cartesian style, and force of conviction, they have opened the territory for transdisciplinary exploration. The result is breathtaking. It is not just an amazingly good book but a manifesto for a whole new area of studies: territoriology.”-FrÉdÉric Vandenberghe, professor of sociology at the Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro “Animated Lands breathes new life into the study of territory. Grounded in the particulars of walls and everyday places, it also cuts across traditional intellectual territories to assemble new theoretical connections between networks, vitalism, atmospheres, rhythm analysis, and the concept of home.”-Kim Dovey, professor of architecture and urban design at the University of Melbourne “In this innovative and insightful study, Andrea Mubi Brighenti and Mattias KÄrrholm provide a rich reflection on the concept of territory. They introduce the idea of ‘territoriology’ as part of a wider exploration of space, materiality, and social life that lies at the cutting edge of contemporary theoretical debates.”-Matthew Gandy, professor of cultural and historical geography and fellow of King’s College at the University of Cambridge