Soja, Edward (1941–)

One of human geography's most passionate and articulate advocates, Edward Soja has long been an aggressive voice for the inclusion of space in contemporary social thought. He is widely regarded as one of the leading theoreticians in urban and political geography. His work has long been characterized by an abiding concern for issues of social justice and inequality as well as for deciphering the ways in which spatial relations are naturalized as well as contested.

From his origins in the Bronx, Soja developed a highly urban-centered geographical imagination. Following a PhD at Syracuse University, he taught briefly at Northwestern University in Chicago, where he briefly pursued a positivist line of thought. His early work concerned Africa, including a dissertation on Kenya and applications of modernization theory. ...