"Adams's take on communications is tragic/comic/hopeful, a posture that is bound to upset academic writers who have opted for so long to be tragic/ironic/cynical. . . . At last geography has a new voice—original, powerful, and eloquent—that deserves to command the respect of the learned world."—Yi-fu Tuan
"Encyclopedic in scope, Paul Adams presents an enticing romantic vision on what it means to be human in the age of ubiquitous and instantaneous communication. An instant classic. . . . Humanistic scholarship at its best."—Daniel Z. Sui, Reta A. Hayncs Endowed Chair in Geosciences, Texas A&M University
Description
Using the body as an axis for geographical theory, this book argues that communication empowers self to constantly transcend its physical limits. It urges complete review of personal borders in space and time based on symbols, signs and signals that redefine ties to the tangible world, i.e., “Dear John” letters, layout of furniture in rooms, or chronic illness.
Adams shows how vehicular transit has altered traditional modalities like walking or biking while navigation of space and virtual space has led to “boundary blurring.” He covers transforming moments in communication from the rise of writing to invention of the printing press, telephone, and electronic media. To better understand human geography, he also plumbs the relation of space and time to notions of romance, identity, and meaning. Citing geographers throughout the ages and the effects of mercantile, industrial, and current global economies, The Boundless Self is sure to provoke thought and theory among geographers, communicators, and scholars alike.
About the Author
Paul C. Adams is an assistant professor of geography at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2003 and has also taught at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, State University of New York at Albany, Texas A&M University, and McGill University. His articles on communication topics in geography have appeared in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Political Geography, Geographical Review, Urban Geography, and Journal of Geography.
May 2005