A Lacanian understanding of the southern planning theorists’ identification under the hegemony of western philosophy

Mohsen Mohammadzadeh

doi:10.24306/plnxt/68

Abstract

As a planning theorist who has studied and taught planning theory in the Global South and North, I grapple with the question – “What does planning theory mean in the Global South?” To answer this question, I ontologically investigate the meaning of Southern planning theory based on a Lacanian approach. Drawing on the Lacanian theory of human subjectivity, this article explains how planning theorists’ identities are constituted through their interactions within academia. Lacanian discourse theory assists in exploring how most Southern planning theorists adopt, internalise, and use hegemonic Western philosophy, ideas, and discourses as the only accepted mechanism of truth. Consequently, this process profoundly alienates Southern planning theorists from their local context, as they often devalue, overlook, and neglect non-Western beliefs, ideas, knowledge, and philosophy. I argue that although the number of Southern planning theorists has increased during the last decades, non-Western philosophy is seldom utilised as the core of their critical studies. Based on the Lacanian discourse theory, I show that they mostly remain in the hegemonic mechanism of knowledge production that is embedded in the colonial era.

Highlights

This article reflects my personal experience as a non-Euro-American planning theorist who has studied and taught planning theory in the Global South and the Global North
Historic Iranian cities were developed according to certain principles and regulations that were informed by local philosophy and ideas and planning clearly has a longer history than that of industrial capitalism in the West
In the absence of non-Euro-American theories and under the hegemony of Western planning theories, I grapple with the question – ‘What does planning theory mean in the Global South?’ To answer this question, I ontologically investigate the meaning of Southern planning theory based on a Lacanian perspective

Summary

Mohsen Mohammadzadeh

As a planning theorist who has studied and taught planning theory in the Global South and North, I grapple with the question – ‘What does planning theory mean in the Global South?’ To answer this question, I ontologically investigate the meaning of Southern planning theory based on a Lacanian approach. Lacanian discourse theory assists in exploring how most Southern planning theorists adopt, internalise, and use hegemonic Western philosophy, ideas, and discourses as the only accepted mechanism of truth. This process profoundly alienates Southern planning theorists from their local context, as they often devalue, overlook, and neglect non-Western beliefs, ideas, knowledge, and philosophy. I argue that the number of Southern planning theorists has increased during the last decades, non-Western philosophy is seldom utilised as the core of their critical studies. A Lacanian understanding of the southern planning theorists’ identification under the hegemony of western philosophy.

Introduction

Why Lacanian Discourse Theory?

Global South and Southern Planning Theorists

Colonialism and its Discourses of Mastery

Conclusion