The Analysis to Two Masks of Manuel Castells'Space-culture Theory
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DOI: 10.38007/Proceedings.0001641
Author(s)
Xiaochen Zuo and Yang Liu
Corresponding Author
Xiaochen Zuo
Abstract
In the western postmodern space knowledge pedigree, Manuel Castells' space thoughts not only have the similarity of the cultural criticism to space family theory, but also have the characteristics of theoretical temperament differences because of its unique “social structure-analyzing mode” and “information technology research path”. From the “structural space” based on the urban modernization in the 1970s to the “space of flows” constructed by relying on the development of network information technology in the 1980s, the change of Castells' space concept is a profound metaphor for the structural transformation in the relationship throughout western culture society and modes of space production in recent years. Therefore, by examining and analyzing the two masks of Castells' space culture thoughts, which are the spatial views of “structuralism-Marxism doctrine” and “information-consumption capitalism”, we can discover and explain the multidimensional aspects of cultural and social roots, theoretical discourses and aesthetic political metaphors behind the transformation of space, so as to further correct the study of contemporary space cultural ecology.
Keywords
Castells; Spatial Turn; Structuralism-Marxism; Information-consuming Capitalism