Richard G. Smith (geographer)

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Richard G. Smith is a British geographer. His research focuses on the philosophy of Jean Baudrillard, and urban studies, especially on poststructuralist cities.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Academic career

Smith was educated at the University of Hull (BA Hons Geography, 1st class, 1992) and University of Bristol (PhD, 1995 - supervised by Sir Nigel Thrift). Currently he works at Swansea University in the United Kingdom. [1]

Research

Smith speaks about cities around the world, recently in Kazan in Russia, and in Bogotá and Medellín in Colombia. He was interviewed about global cities for Colombian TV.[ citation needed ] His current research focuses on poststructuralism, assemblage theory, and actor-network theory in urban studies.

He is the author of numerous articles on Baudrillard's oeuvre. Editor of The Baudrillard Dictionary (Edinburgh University Press, 2010), Jean Baudrillard: Fatal Theories (Routledge, 2009), 'Baudrillard Redux' (Special Issue of Cultural Politics, 2011), Jean Baudrillard: from Hyperreality to Disappearance: Uncollected Interviews (EUP, 2015). He is an editorial board member of the International Journal of Baudrillard Studies. He organized the first major UK conference on Baudrillard's work in 2006 (4-6 September), and was interviewed in 2014 about Baudrillard for a South Korean TV documentary. [ citation needed ]

Publications

Related Research Articles

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Jean Baudrillard French sociologist and philosopher

Jean Baudrillard was a French sociologist, philosopher and cultural theorist. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as well as his formulation of concepts such as simulation and hyperreality. He wrote about diverse subjects, including consumerism, gender relations, economics, social history, art, Western foreign policy, and popular culture. Among his best known works are Seduction (1978), Simulacra and Simulation (1981), America (1986), and The Gulf War Did Not Take Place (1991). His work is frequently associated with postmodernism and specifically post-structuralism.

Hyperreality, in semiotics and postmodernism, is an inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced postmodern societies. Hyperreality is seen as a condition in which what is real and what is fiction are seamlessly blended together so that there is no clear distinction between where one ends and the other begins. It allows the co-mingling of physical reality with virtual reality (VR) and human intelligence with artificial intelligence (AI).

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<i>Simulacra and Simulation</i> 1981 book by Jean Baudrillard

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Nigel Thrift British human geographer and social scientist

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Hyperrealism (visual arts)

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Post-Marxism

Post-Marxism is a trend in political philosophy and social theory which deconstructs Karl Marx's writings and Marxism proper, bypassing orthodox Marxism. The term post-Marxism first appeared in Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe's theoretical work Hegemony and Socialist Strategy. It can be said that post-Marxism as a political theory was developed at the University of Essex by Laclau and Mouffe. Philosophically, post-Marxism counters derivationism and essentialism. Recent overviews of post-Marxism are provided by Ernesto Screpanti, Göran Therborn and Gregory Meyerson.

Urban planning Technical and political process concerned with the use of land and design of the urban environment

Urban planning, also known as regional planning, town planning, city planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks and their accessibility. Traditionally, urban planning followed a top-down approach in master planning the physical layout of human settlements. The primary concern was the public welfare, which included considerations of efficiency, sanitation, protection and use of the environment, as well as effects of the master plans on the social and economic activities. Over time, urban planning has adopted a focus on the social and environmental bottom-lines that focus on planning as a tool to improve the health and well-being of people while maintaining sustainability standards. Sustainable development was added as one of the main goals of all planning endeavors in the late 20th century when the detrimental economic and the environmental impacts of the previous models of planning had become apparent.. Similarly, in the early 21st century, Jane Jacob's writings on legal and political perspectives to emphasize the interests of residents, businesses and communities effectively influenced urban planners to take into broader consideration of resident experiences and needs while planning.

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The Singular Objects of Architecture is a book written by French philosopher, Jean Baudrillard. It consists of the two conversations that he had with French architect, Jean Nouvel in 1997 at Maison des Ecrivains and the University of Paris VI-La Villette School of Architecture. In this book, Baudrillard deals with fundamental issues such as politics, identity, and aesthetics, and explores the possibilities of modern architecture and the future of our modern life.

References

  1. "Dr Richard Smith". www.swansea.ac.uk. Retrieved 2015-09-14.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)