The Doreen Massey Reader

Doreen Massey (1944–2016) was one of the most influential geographers of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Her ideas on space, region, identity, ethics, and capital transformed the field itself, while also attracting a wide audience in sociology, planning, political economy, cultural studies, gender studies, and beyond. The significance of her contributions is difficult to overstate. Massey established both scholarly substance and political salience for the claim that “geography matters,” not as a dry defense of disciplinary turf but as a rallying cry.

This collection of Massey’s writings brings together for the first time her formative contributions, showcasing the continuing relevance of her ideas to current debates on financialization, globalization, immigration, and nationalism, among other topics. With introductions and explanatory notes from the editors, the collection provides an unrivaled introduction to the range and depth of Massey’s contributions, which are sure to remain an essential touchstone for social theory and critical geography for generations to come.

Doreen Massey (1944-2016) was professor of geography at the Open University from 1982 to 2009. She began her career with the think tank the Centre for Environmental Studies in London, famously closed by Margaret Thatcher’s government, before joining the OU. She was a fellow of the British Academy and the recipient of the Prix Vautrin Lud, regarded as geography’s Nobel prize.