This article examines the contending redefinitions of national identity in contemporary Germany's memorial culture, focusing particularly on the ensemble of monuments and parade fields known as the former Nazi Party rally grounds in Nuremberg. In a detailed case study, I analyse the recent conversion of one of the physical remnants of National Socialism – Albert Speer's transformer station – into a fast-food restaurant and interpret this conversion as a novel contribution to the discourse on German nationhood. I argue that the (...) provocative commercial reutilisation of the former Nazi monument gives expression to a renewed self-confidence that Germany has gained from displaying a willingness to face up to its past as perpetrator nation. While the intervention thus deviates from the self-indicting spirit that had been characteristic for Germany's memorial culture after World War II, an ironic note is conspicuous in this act of commemorative politics that indicates a way of dealing with the fascist legacy that is, surprisingly in some respects, superior to more conventional memory strategies. (shrink)

This article intends to provide an overview on the philosophical and geographical background of geo-ontologies and to propose a geographical classification of these ontologies, in response to their increasing diffusion within the contemporary debate. Accordingly, the first two paragraphs are devoted to offer a short introduction to the ontological turn in philosophy and to the development of the ontology of geography, that is that part of the ontology mainly focused on geographic entities and their boundaries, spatial representation, meretopological relations and (...) location. As a second step, this preliminary analysis is taken to be a helpful device in showing some philosophical tools useful for geo-ontologies and in determining whether and what geographical sub-areas can be identified from non-professional geographers. Consequently, paragraphs three and four investigate the emerging of geo-ontologies from the spatial turn and their general aims. Part of this inquiry is dedicated to show some taxonomies derived from the domain of computer and information science and to underline the absence of a classification suitable for spreading geo-ontologies in the geographical debate. As it is, the fifth paragraph is concerned with a taxonomy for geo-ontologies grounded on some fundamental geographical distinctions. The basic idea is that such a taxonomy might best introduce geo-ontologies to the geographical debate that, in turn, might deeply influence the advancement of these ontologies in terms of conceptualizations and trace gradually the guidelines for a classification, in which the development of geo-ontologies would follow all the different sub-disciplines within the same geography. (shrink)

El objetivo del presente artículo es tratar la territorialización del proceso de paz colombiano. Se trata de poner de mani esto la ineludible necesidad de que para la implementación de los Acuerdos de Paz es necesario tener en cuenta el escenario en el que se van a llevar a cabo las acciones, actuaciones y políticas públicas de paz. Colombia es una realidad conformada por una rica diversidad de realidades socioespaciales y por ello cualquier estrategia de paz que no tenga en (...) cuenta esta pluralidad está condenada al fracaso. El análisis que se presenta en estas páginas está organizado en torno a tres ejes. En primer lugar, desde una perspectiva epistemológica, se aborda la relevancia del territorio como categoría de análisis. En segundo lugar, se describe cuál es el escenario del que estamos tratando, esto es, la con guración del territorio colombiano y su ordenamiento. Una vez establecidas las coordenadas en las que nos desenvolvemos se procederá a una lectura analítica de la agenda de paz en clave territorial, es decir, poner de mani esto los retos y problemáticas que la aplicación de los acuerdos de paz va a suponer en función de las características territoriales del país. Finalmente, se cierra la re exión con un apartado de recapitulación y conclusiones. (shrink)

The geography of choirs has seldom received attention in human geography and even less so in a Swedish context. This article analyses the geography of choirs in Sweden by focusing on choir members in the Church of Sweden. Sweden offers an interesting case of choral geography because of the Church of Sweden’s geographical presence, the number of choir members, and the role of religion in contemporary Swedish society. An intimation of the contemporary significance is that the Church of Sweden has (...) 78,170 choir members in 2020 and is active in every municipality. The data consist of the Church of Sweden membership and choir members visualized in turn on maps. The qualitative analyses of the quantitative data reveal that there seem to be few youth-choir members in Sweden. There seem to be many children choir members in the larger cities but fewer in rural areas. The northern part of Sweden seems to have generally lower levels of choir members but higher membership in the Church of Sweden. Another finding is that high membership in the church does not necessarily mean a high number of choir memberships. For further studies, quantitative engagement with more datasets together with an engagement with post-secular theories is suggested. (shrink)

While there is an extensive body of literature about the impact of sharing physical space on ethical consumption, and a growing body of literature that addresses the impact of digital technologies on ethical consumption, there is little research on the increasing intersections between the physical and digital realms. This study explores the distinct affordances of physical and digital spaces and how they may work in both complementary and synergistic fashions. Drawing on an ethnographic study of two ethical consumption communities in (...) North London, UK, we explore how ethical consumers navigate and negotiate both physical and digital spaces, taking advantage of such affordances. We develop the notion of chorophilia, or love for physical space, explore digital commitments and synergistic affordances of scaling up, and advance polytopes, which focus on the relationality of digital-physical spaces. Implications and avenues for future research are also discussed. (shrink)