Mapping the Present: Heidegger, Foucault and the Project of a Spatial History - Tapa dura

" excellent study It is a rich and complex book, which is at once an interpretation of Heidegger and Foucault, an argument for the importance of Heidegger for understanding Foucault and a forceful case for the claim that Foucault's Nietzsche is a Nietzsche mediated by Heidegger it is an amazing book in the sense that it can handle such a variety of topics, and thinkers and issues and so many layers of argument in a concise, readable and yet immaculate manner. Stuart Elden is a master of brevity. The main body of the book is supplemented by nearly fifty pages of notes and an excellent bibliography that will be of great help to those who want to pursue the issues of their interest further, leaving the book accessible to the 'general' reader." The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, 2005

This title assesses the relationship between Foucault and Heidegger, particularly on the issue of space and history. It suggests that space and history need to be rethought, and combined as a spatial history, rather than as a history of space. In other words, space should become not merely an object of analysis, but a tool of analysis. The first half of the book concentrates on Heidegger: from the early occlusion of space, through the politically charged readings of Nietzsche and Holderlin, to the later work on art, technology and the polis. Foucault's work is then rethought through Heidegger, and the project of a spatial history established through re-readings of his works on madness and discipline.