Theorising Time and Space

My primary concern in this book is with the changes to the experience and conceptualisation of time and space apparent in the early twenty-first century. These changes correspond to the widespread use in developed societies of the internet, mobile phones and networked communications. Globalisation and the international flow of information are other related factors. Before considering the new time and space in detail, in this chapter I survey the wealth of theoretical approaches to the conceptualisation of time and space developed in the twentieth century, and into the twenty-first. Many of these theoretical perspectives pertain to the impact of technologies of communication and transport; others have elaborated analyses of the changing experience of time and space within modernity and postmodernity. The theoretical approaches considered in this chapter — drawn from a range of disciplines including philosophy, sociology, anthropology, geography, urban theory, media studies and technology studies — will serve as the base for my investigation of the contemporary condition of time and space in the next chapter.