Regions I: introduction, Lecture 1, 14/04/2026
The exam consists of 4 questions on:
● content of lectures
● Tomaney’s essay on “Region”
● Seminar: course material & discussion in class
The focus of this course is to pick some familiar elements, like historiography, and look how
scholars have approached it, with various perspectives and approaches. We will also learn
conceptual-theoretical tools: how do scholars define the concepts used in regional history
and how does that influence research?
Definitions of concept
“Defined as an aspect of thought, a concept is a kind of unit in terms of which one thinks: a
unit smaller than a judgment, proposition, or theory, but one which necessarily enters into
these”
(A dictionary of the Social Science, eds. J. Gould and W. Kolb, Free Press, 1964)
A concept is:
● something conceived in the mind: thought, notion
● an abstract or generic idea generalized from particular instances
(Merriam-Webster)
The concepts related to regional history that we will be discussing in this course are:
● space
● region
● city
● borders & boundaries
● transregional and transnational exchange
● etc.
Week 1: What is a region?
Contents:
● space and region in (world) history
● the region as a “sea” or an “ocean”
● defining the region in socio-political terms
● regions as political-institutional constructions
What is a region? Space and region in (world) history
The definition of region depends on who you ask: there is a lot of discussion around the
concept and no consensus. This points to a feature of concepts that are widely contested.
The “spatial turn” in history refers to the idea that space and region are somehow important
for historians to understand the processes. In the 19th century people reflected a lot on
regions, national territories, space…since the beginning of modern historiography,
space/region/nation are fundamental concepts. However, in the last 20-30 years,
historiography has been “rediscovered”, this is what we mean by “spatial turn”: what scholars
understood is that
, ● space is not just the container for historical change but something more and more
important. It’s the theater where history is played
● space is not (only?) an absolute concept and cannot be always measured: history is
not determined by space as the only explanatory ground
Is there a connection between social structures and space? How have societies and
communities throughout history imagined and defined space? How did they live in it?
Quote by historical geographer Martin W. Lewis (My emphasis, 2011)
“HISTORICAL PROCESSES CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD AS THEY
LITERALLY TAKE PLACE, UNFOLDING ACROSS PARTICULAR
LANDSCAPES AND INFLUENCED BY THE OBDURATE REALITIES OF
THE PHYSICAL WORLD. CORRESPONDINGLY, THE SPATIAL PATTERNS
OF THE GEOGRAPHER’S PURVIEW CAN BE CONSIDERED
COMPREHENSIBLE ONLY AS EXAMINED THROUGH THEIR HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT.
TIME AND SPACE, CHRONOLOGY AND CHOROLOGY, ERA AND
REGION: THE DUALITIES OF HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY ARE EVER
INTERTWINED.”
He says that historians need geographers to understand history and geographers need
historians to understand geography. There is mutual dependency between these two
subjects.
Henri Lefebvre (1901-1991)
He was a French philosopher who published more than 600 books and 300 articles. He was
influenced by leftists like Marx and Gramsci and by 1968 student movements. He focused on
urban studies and studies of everyday life, globalization process, capitalism and its legacies,
rising inequalities...he tries to analyze these topics from the perspective of space.
In 1974, he publishes La production de l’espace.
His hypothesis says “space is historical”: history is always a fundamental part of space. He
also says “space is not absolute but something that people and society produce
themselves”. In this sense, space is a product of history.
He also says that societies and communities produce space all the time, so every definition
of space is temporary and changes or is reframed. Every notion of space is social and
depends on the decisions of the people.
, John Tomaney (Newcastle University)
He says that regions are “historically contingent social constructions”; they are the result of
social processes, interactions and communication between humans”. Historically contingent
means they are temporary and strictly depend on history.
In this case, we can ask ourselves
● where do regions come from?
● is region a construction of scholars or were people in history aware of living in
regions?
● how did pre-modern empires relate to “regions” and other forms of networks and
connectivity?
● what is the relationship between regions and the nation-state?
● how have modern European colonial empires determined regions?
● how do globalisation processes since 1945 influence regions?
We have 5 interdependent notions of region:
● cartographic
● economic
● cultural
● political
● ecological (depends on the nature and the environment)
Armand Frémont, “La region, espace vécu”, 1976)
The French are pioneers of this type of studies in Europe.
“THE “LIVED SPACE”, IN ALL ITS THICKNESS AND ITS
COMPLEXITY, THUS APPEARS AS THE DEVELOPER OF
REGIONAL REALITIES; THESE HAVE MANY
ADMINISTRATIVE, HISTORICAL COMPONENTS,
ECOLOGICAL, ECONOMIC, CERTAINLY, BUT ALSO,
AND MORE FUNDAMENTALLY, PSYCHOLOGICAL. THE
REGION IS NOT AN OBJECT HAVING ANY
REALITY IN ITSELF [...].
The exam consists of 4 questions on:
● content of lectures
● Tomaney’s essay on “Region”
● Seminar: course material & discussion in class
The focus of this course is to pick some familiar elements, like historiography, and look how
scholars have approached it, with various perspectives and approaches. We will also learn
conceptual-theoretical tools: how do scholars define the concepts used in regional history
and how does that influence research?
Definitions of concept
“Defined as an aspect of thought, a concept is a kind of unit in terms of which one thinks: a
unit smaller than a judgment, proposition, or theory, but one which necessarily enters into
these”
(A dictionary of the Social Science, eds. J. Gould and W. Kolb, Free Press, 1964)
A concept is:
● something conceived in the mind: thought, notion
● an abstract or generic idea generalized from particular instances
(Merriam-Webster)
The concepts related to regional history that we will be discussing in this course are:
● space
● region
● city
● borders & boundaries
● transregional and transnational exchange
● etc.
Week 1: What is a region?
Contents:
● space and region in (world) history
● the region as a “sea” or an “ocean”
● defining the region in socio-political terms
● regions as political-institutional constructions
What is a region? Space and region in (world) history
The definition of region depends on who you ask: there is a lot of discussion around the
concept and no consensus. This points to a feature of concepts that are widely contested.
The “spatial turn” in history refers to the idea that space and region are somehow important
for historians to understand the processes. In the 19th century people reflected a lot on
regions, national territories, space…since the beginning of modern historiography,
space/region/nation are fundamental concepts. However, in the last 20-30 years,
historiography has been “rediscovered”, this is what we mean by “spatial turn”: what scholars
understood is that
, ● space is not just the container for historical change but something more and more
important. It’s the theater where history is played
● space is not (only?) an absolute concept and cannot be always measured: history is
not determined by space as the only explanatory ground
Is there a connection between social structures and space? How have societies and
communities throughout history imagined and defined space? How did they live in it?
Quote by historical geographer Martin W. Lewis (My emphasis, 2011)
“HISTORICAL PROCESSES CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD AS THEY
LITERALLY TAKE PLACE, UNFOLDING ACROSS PARTICULAR
LANDSCAPES AND INFLUENCED BY THE OBDURATE REALITIES OF
THE PHYSICAL WORLD. CORRESPONDINGLY, THE SPATIAL PATTERNS
OF THE GEOGRAPHER’S PURVIEW CAN BE CONSIDERED
COMPREHENSIBLE ONLY AS EXAMINED THROUGH THEIR HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT.
TIME AND SPACE, CHRONOLOGY AND CHOROLOGY, ERA AND
REGION: THE DUALITIES OF HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY ARE EVER
INTERTWINED.”
He says that historians need geographers to understand history and geographers need
historians to understand geography. There is mutual dependency between these two
subjects.
Henri Lefebvre (1901-1991)
He was a French philosopher who published more than 600 books and 300 articles. He was
influenced by leftists like Marx and Gramsci and by 1968 student movements. He focused on
urban studies and studies of everyday life, globalization process, capitalism and its legacies,
rising inequalities...he tries to analyze these topics from the perspective of space.
In 1974, he publishes La production de l’espace.
His hypothesis says “space is historical”: history is always a fundamental part of space. He
also says “space is not absolute but something that people and society produce
themselves”. In this sense, space is a product of history.
He also says that societies and communities produce space all the time, so every definition
of space is temporary and changes or is reframed. Every notion of space is social and
depends on the decisions of the people.
, John Tomaney (Newcastle University)
He says that regions are “historically contingent social constructions”; they are the result of
social processes, interactions and communication between humans”. Historically contingent
means they are temporary and strictly depend on history.
In this case, we can ask ourselves
● where do regions come from?
● is region a construction of scholars or were people in history aware of living in
regions?
● how did pre-modern empires relate to “regions” and other forms of networks and
connectivity?
● what is the relationship between regions and the nation-state?
● how have modern European colonial empires determined regions?
● how do globalisation processes since 1945 influence regions?
We have 5 interdependent notions of region:
● cartographic
● economic
● cultural
● political
● ecological (depends on the nature and the environment)
Armand Frémont, “La region, espace vécu”, 1976)
The French are pioneers of this type of studies in Europe.
“THE “LIVED SPACE”, IN ALL ITS THICKNESS AND ITS
COMPLEXITY, THUS APPEARS AS THE DEVELOPER OF
REGIONAL REALITIES; THESE HAVE MANY
ADMINISTRATIVE, HISTORICAL COMPONENTS,
ECOLOGICAL, ECONOMIC, CERTAINLY, BUT ALSO,
AND MORE FUNDAMENTALLY, PSYCHOLOGICAL. THE
REGION IS NOT AN OBJECT HAVING ANY
REALITY IN ITSELF [...].
