Anti-Atlas: Critical Area Studies from the East of the West - Paperback

by Tim Beasley-Murray (Editor), Wendy Bracewell (Editor), Michal Murawski (Editor)

Where is "the East of the West"? This provocative collection confronts the assumptions behind how we divide the world into knowable regions.

Anti-Atlas uses the upheavals of Eastern Europe as a lens through which to rethink the politics of area studies. This collection unsettles traditional hierarchies, questioning how knowledge is produced, who controls it, and how we divide the world into "areas."

Consisting of an eclectic mix of scholars from Europe, the UK, and North America, the book experiments with diverse genres--from academic essays and autobiographical reflections to travel guides and data visualizations. Through this innovative approach, the editors propose a manifesto for area studies to be more critical and reflexive; to be undisciplined and deeply engaged with local perspectives.

By dismantling the assumptions embedded in atlases and disciplinary boundaries, Anti-Atlas invites readers to think differently about how we construct and categorize the world. Of particular interest to scholars of area studies and critical theory, this work reassesses what it means to study places in an era of geopolitical rupture.

Author Biography

Tim Beasley-Murray is associate professor of European thought and culture at University College London. Wendy Bracewell is professor emeritus of southeast European history at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London. Michal Murawski is associate professor in critical area studies at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London.