GLOBAL URBAN STUDIES BASED ON POST-HUMANIST THOUGHTS: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS AND RELEVANT CONCEPTS
WANG Li-li1, CHEN Hao2
1. Center for Social Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China;
2. School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Abstract:Since the beginning of the 21st century, post-humanist conceptual frameworks such as cyborg urbanization, the hybrid city, urban political ecology, and assemblage urbanism have become key perspectives to reveal and theorize the complex intertwining of human and non-human actants and processes in contemporary cities. What are the philosophical foundations of these conceptual frameworks? How did they evolve over time and interact with each other? What are the established or emergent urban questions that they attempt to address? What are the empirical studies that employ these frameworks to examine urban questions in specific contexts? Based on an extensive review of international literature, this article aims to provide an overview of the four post-humanist frameworks. Specifically, the article traces their theoretical origins to three main post-humanist theories-Haraway's cyborg theory, Deleuze and Guattari's rhizome theory, and actor-network theory-and a relational view of geography and space. Then, the article illustrates the main theoretical claims and epistemological principles of the four conceptual frameworks and reviews how they were applied in empirical studies: Firmly grounded on an ontology characterized by relationality and hybridity, these urban theories refuse to view the human and non-human separately; Rather, they claim that urban subjects and objects are hybrids of both human and hon-human actors or processes. This article also highlights the differences between the four frameworks. At last, the article explores how such post-humanist perspectives may generate new insights in the study of Chinese cities. Recognizing the latent dangers of flat ontology and anarchistic epistemology of the four frameworks, the article suggests that they however may help us better understand China's urban questions, especially in a context of widespread and profound technological development and socio-natural transformation.
王莉莉, 陈浩. 基于后人类思想的国际城市研究:理论溯源与概念辨析[J]. 人文地理, 2021, 36(1): 1-10,93.
WANG Li-li, CHEN Hao. GLOBAL URBAN STUDIES BASED ON POST-HUMANIST THOUGHTS: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS AND RELEVANT CONCEPTS. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, 2021, 36(1): 1-10,93.
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