Embodied Geographies - Spaces, Bodies and Rites of Passage

The lifecourse can be seen as a journal, and this book charts our progress, revealing how we cope witht he rough passages, the crises points that can be termed 'rites of passage' . Life crises involve learning about our bodies, about the places we live in, and about our identity. They challenge us to draw on our reserves of adaptability and can transform how we live our lives and how we see ourselves. Embodied Geographies provides an account of different types of life moments and stages which can contribute to forging our identities. Chapters focus on pregnancy, childbirth, parenthood, threat and reality of violence, illness, disability, migration, bereavement and the ensuing family responsibilities, and death itself. Within these accounts, we are made aware how children widen their horizons during middle childhood; how teenagers compete with others to lay claim to places, how routines are established unintentionally between parents which bear out such stereotypes as patriarchy; all of which provide an examination of the close relationship between body, place and identity. The geographical spread of the case studies includes: the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and the USA. Dr Robyn Longhurst, University of the Waikato, New Zealand, Dr Bonnie Hallman, California State University, USA, Professor R. Hugman, Curtin University of Technology, Australia.