Transnationalismasachallengeandchanceforsocialsciences.docVIP

The Spatial Spanning of the Social Transnationalism as a challenge and chance for social sciences Ludger Pries Paper presented at the International Workshop Transnationalism: New Configurations of the Social and the Space Ruhr-Universit?t Bochum, 6th and 7th of September 2002 Working address: Prof. Dr. Ludger Pries Fakult?t für Sozialwissenschaft 44780 Bochum Tel?: 49(234)32-25429 Fax?: 49(234)32-14446 Email: Ludger.Pries@ruhr-uni-bochum.de The Spatial Spanning of the Social Transnationalism as a challenge and chance for social sciences Ludger Pries The dust of globalisation discourse had not blinded yet the very instructive reflections on the relation between the Social and the Space, when David Gregory and John Urry edited the book Social Relations and Spatial Structures in 1985. The editors wrote in their introduction that “spatial structure is now seen not merely as an arena in which social life unfolds, but rather as a medium through which social relations are produced and reproduced” (Gregory/Urry 1985, p. 3). It seems that, since the powder of globalisation debates is coming down at the beginning of the 21st century, it is worth to reflect again more explicitly on the relation between the Social and the Space. New information, communication and transportation technologies let the world shrink together. In the 21st century, an average individual of the rich countries and of the upper classes of all countries of the world is able to visit all continents of the globe physically at least once in his or her life. This person also can participate in the global flow of information as receptor (viewing TV or radio, reading newspapers or books) and as actor (using the telephone or internet). The spatial scope of human action is becoming wider or global, the margins for human spatial mobility are shrinking. But first of all, this is a real option only for almost half a billion or a tenth of world population, more than half of the human beings could not afford a dai