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Abstract
Focusing on the concept of social space in the writings of three sociologists, Georg Simmel, Robert E. Park, and Erving Goffman, this article examines the classic theoretical formulations of social spaces in the tradition of the Chicago School of Sociology. For Simmel and the Chicago School, the foundation of social spaces lies in the social interactions among actors, and social entities and structures emerge from these interaction processes. This theoretical tradition emphasizes the interdependence of physical space and social space, highlighting two featured assumptions about social space: endogeneity and temporality. It also focuses on the relationship between spaces and human emotions.
Highlights
In the history of sociology, which spans over a hundred years since the emergence of this field in the nineteenth century, sociologists’ conceptualization of space has continued to evolve
Various social meanings, including power, production, construction, and interactions, are incorporated into these concepts. In addition to these influential French theories, another theoretical tradition of social space was established by German sociologist Georg Simmel and the Chicago School of Sociology in America, with a particular focus on "social forms" and "human ecology" (Simmel 1971 2009; Park and Burgess 1969,1921)
Regardless of its type, a territory is a "field of things" that needs to be "patrolled and defended." Similar to McKenzie’s discussion of invasion and accommodation in urban communities, Goffman believes that the encroachment of personal territory and the resulting interaction processes are crucial for forming boundaries in social space
Summary
In the history of sociology, which spans over a hundred years since the emergence of this field in the nineteenth century, sociologists’ conceptualization of space has continued to evolve. Human ecology introduces a set of basic analytical concepts, including competition, conflict, accommodation, assimilation, isolation, dominance, and succession, to describe processes of social interaction.
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