Creating an awareness of others - Highlighting the role of space and place

The world of Others is little considered in human geography beyond essentia list and imperialist(1) calls for a recognition of cultural diversity and m utual understanding. Others are those groups in society who are generally m arginalised or excluded on the basis of some characteristic(s) (e.g. disabi lity, race gender; sexuality, lifestyle). In this article, it is argued tha t school-based geography is a modernist enterprise which treats space as a container of objects and place as the arrangement of those objects. It is s uggested that the national curriculum should include new developments withi n academic geography which recognises that social relations are socially co nstructed and that space is not passive and abstract but rather that space is dynamic, contested and socially produced. As such, space is a powerful m edium that I regulates human life. Space acts as a social text, conveying m essages of belonging and exclusion, and socio-spatial organisation is an im portant agent in maintaining and reproducing current power relations within society. Using the example of disability the power of space and place in s haping social life is illustrated In the final section, possible classroom agendas are outlined based around three related themes: exploring socio;spa tial constructions of difference; investigating the spatial manifestations of difference; and examining social justice.