Space, Place, Society, and Culture

This research cluster will meet monthly to develop core concepts of the trandisciplinary study of "space, place, society, and culture". Members will draw on work in history, geography, environmental studies, planning, philosophy, religion, sociology, cultural studies, and other disciplines. When presenting our findings and the work of seminal scholars, we will begin a sustained transdiciplinary investigation into the relationship of human beings to their physical environment throughout history. This inquiry will range from examining the causes, effects, and nature of changes in the physical environment to the human attitudes, beliefs, ideologies, symbols, and values that have evolved in relation to the real imagined physical environment. We will also explore how the characteristics, perceptions, and values associated with human surroundings have affected the social, political, legal, intellectual, and cultural systems.