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Social Geographies Chapter 1 Summary

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Book Review
Student Number: C1546511
Valentine, G. (2001) Social Geographies: Space and Society, Prentice: Harlow
Chapter 3: the home

This chapter is a detailed representation of current social themes within and outside of the home, in the case of homelessness. Gill Valentine’s background on social identities and belonging means that she can explore deeper meanings of aspects of the home that many people would consider mundane, such as the home as a site of violence. It is clear that the book has been written for the use of students, this is because each section contains exercises, essay titles and further reading which may be useful. Chapter 3 of Social Geographies immediately outlines in the introductory section that ‘the home is not just …show more content…

The introduction then begins to outline the main themes of the chapter. Starting with the role of women within the home and how traditional views are being challenged and argued by feminists. Then moves on to briefly summarise the theme of the home being a site of consumption and how this can lead to household disputes. Secondly, this leads on to the ongoing issue of homelessness and the social relationships developed around this issue. The final part of the introduction provides a short overview of each sub-section of the chapter which are; experiences of the home; moral economy of the home and home rules, in addition to themes previously mentioned. This chapter achieves its goal of explaining that the home is not just a home but a ‘social matrix’. It explores common themes within social geography which many people …show more content…

Gill Valentine draws on the fact that the home may be the most influential geographical locations in our lives, as it has ‘strong claims on our time, resources and emotions’ (2001:71). The text then moves on to explain how the home has different meanings to people depending on tenure and age. Box 3.1 quotes a selection of people explaining their meanings of home. This outlines the different feelings between homeowners and tenants. In general, homeowners feel greater emotional attachments to their home, they see it as a ‘sanctuary - where they can shut the world out’

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