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Thinkingaboutplaceandpower

WheretostartwithreadingHenriLefebvre?
ThiscomesinresponsetoaquestiontomeonTwitter.WhereshouldyoustartwithHenriLefebvre?
Ithinkmanypeople,especiallyinGeography,gotoTheProductionofSpace.Thatsa
majorwork,certainly,butIdontthinkitsagoodplacetostart.Itsadifficultbook,
whichwasLefebvreswritingupthetheoreticalculminationofseveralyears
workingonurbanand,earlier,ruralquestions.Alltoooftenitisreadthroughthelens
ofthefirstchapterabroad,conceptualschemaandnotbalancedbythemuchmore
historicalstudyfoundinlaterchapters.Iveheardseveralpeoplesaythatthiswasthe
first,andlast,thingofLefebvretheyread,orstartedtoread.Anyseriousengagement
withLefebvrehastocometotermswiththisbook,butitsnotagoodplacetostart.
TheCritiqueofEverydayLifeisanotherwayin.Thebooks
ofthatseriesthreevolumesfrom1947to1982,andhis
lastbookElementsofRhythmanalysis,whichhesawasan
informalfourthvolumeareoftheirtime,andareperhapslessradicaland
challengingtodaythantheywerethen.Thethreevolumeshavebeenreissuedina
singlebookbyVerso.IthinkEverydayLifeintheModernWorldisthebestsingle
placetogoforthisaspectofhisworkitsbeeninEnglishforalongtime,andhas
beenreissuedbyBloomsburyandisnowintheirRevelationsseriestoo.
Imentionedtheurbanworkabove,andWritingsonCities(whichincludesTheRight
totheCityandvariousotherpieces)andTheUrbanRevolutionaregoodplacesto
start.Attheveryleast,readthembeforeyoureadTheProductionofSpace.Towards
anArchitectureofEnjoymentisanimportantrecentaddition,whichactsasabridgebetweentheurbanworkand
TheProductionofSpace.Youcanreadtheintroductionhere.

Iftherelationbetweenspaceandpoliticsisofinterest,theState,Space,World
collectionshowsthatafterTheProductionofSpaceLefebvrecontinuedtothinkabout
thesequestions,butwithalargerremitthanthecity.Itgivesasampleoftheworkin
Lefebvreslargelyuntranslatedmasterwork,DelEtat(longoutofprint).Inthat
register,TheSurvivalofCapitalism(outofprint)andTheExplosion:Marxismand
theFrenchUpheaval(onMay1968)alsoshowhispoliticaleconomicanalysisin
practice.TheyreallyshouldbereadtogethertheFrenchversionoftheTheSurvival
ofCapitalismreprintedpartsofTheExplosion,whichareexcisedfromtheEnglish
translation,butwithoutthemthebooklosessomeofitsbite.ThereisalsoIntroduction
toModernity,acurious,interestingbutunevencollectionofpieces,recentlyreissuedin
VersosRadicalThinkersseries.

Lefebvrewas,firstandforemost,aMarxistphilosopher,andanyengagement
withhisworkreallyneedstocometotermswithbothpartsofthat
description.DialecticalMaterialismisareallyimportantwork,butnotan
easyread,andIdsaytheTheSociologyofMarxiswellworthalook,
probablyaheadofmostotherthings.Itisoutofprint,buteasilyavailable
secondhand.ItgivesagoodsenseoftheoveralltrajectoryofwhatLefebvre
wastryingtodo,whichcanbedescribedastakingMarxistthoughtinto
lesserknownorexploredareas.Whilethereismuchmoreonthesequestions
today,LefebvrewrotepioneeringstudiesofMarxisminrelationtoeveryday
life,thecity,space,time,aestheticsandsoonTheSociologyofMarxgives
somesenseofwhathewasdoing.Hisphilosophicalcontributionsaremuch
lessknowninEnglish,butKeyWritingsgivesarepresentativesampleofhisworkinthisregister,alongwithan
overalltakeonhiswork.HiscrucialbookMetaphilosophyisforthcomingin2016fromVerso,andIbelievethis
willsethisdiverseconcernsinawider,theoreticalcontextforAnglophonereaders.

TheworkslistedabovearethoseinEnglishtranslation.MuchofLefebvreremains
untranslated.HismosttheoreticalurbanbookMarxistThoughtandtheCityiscoming
outwithUniversityofMinnesotaPressinlate2016,andsomeofhisruralwritingsare
beginningtobetranslated.Butmoreremainstobedone.
Ofuntranslatedworks,Hegel,Marx,Nietzscheisindispensabletounderstandinghis
workLafindelhistoirerebalanceshistemporalconcernswithhisbetterknown
understandingofspaceandLasommeetlerestegivesasenseofthetrajectoryofthe
firsthalfofhiscareerandlife.Thereareplentymore,thoughthereisquiteabitof
repetition,andsomeworksthatareverymuchoftheirownmoment.SeveralFrench
booksareoutofprint,andmanyoftheseextremelydifficulttofind,buttherewerea
seriesofneweditionsinthe2000s,untilrightsissuesputanendtothatvaluable
work.
Intermsofthesecondaryliterature,thereismuchmoretochosefromnowthantherewasinthepast.Andy
MerrifieldsHenriLefebvre:ACriticalIntroductiongivesagoodsenseoftherelationbetweenthemanandhis
work,whileRobShieldssLefebvre,LoveandStruggleandmyUnderstandingHenriLefebvrearemoredirected
towardstheworkinitself.Ithinkitsfairtosaymineisthemostcomprehensivestudy,thoughitstillleaveslots
underexamined,anditsphilosophicalapproachisnttoeveryonestaste.
EdwardSojasPostmodernGeographiesandThirdspacehavegooddiscussionsofLefebvrealongsideother
concerns.TherearechaptersonLefebvreinworksbyDerekGregoryandothers,andloadsofjournalarticles.
MorerecentlytherehavebeenafewbooksusingLefebvreinrelationtootherdisciplines,thoughmosthavea
spatialperspectiveSueMiddletonsHenriLefebvreandEducationBenjaminFrasersHenriLefebvreandthe
SpanishUrbanExperienceandTowardanUrbanCulturalStudies:HenriLefebvreandtheHumanitiesChris
ButlersHenriLefebvre:SpatialPolitics,EverydayLifeandtheRighttotheCity(goodonthelegal)ukasz
StaneksHenriLefebvreandSpace(excellentonarchitectureandurbanism),andtheeditedcollectionsSpace,

Difference,EverydayLife:ReadingHenriLefebvre,UnderstandingtheCity:Henri
LefebvreandUrbanStudiesandUrbanRevolutionNow.Nathanial
ColemansLefebvreforArchitectshasrecentlybeenpublished.Ifyouread
French,RmiHess,HenriLefebvreetlaventuredusicleisindispensable.
Incidentally,thereisanotherHenriLefebvre,whosebookTheMissingPieceswas
recentlytranslated.Itsaninterestingbookonabandoned,lost,destroyed,forgotten
andunfinishedworks,butitsnotbythesameperson.Ashortexcerptisavailableon
theBerfroiswebsite
[updated14December2013,withlinkstobooksandsomeminoradditions3April
2014withlinkstotheonevolumeCritiqueofEverydayLifeandtheintroductionto
thearchitecturebook21August2014withsomeminorupdating28May2015withsomenewsonforthcoming
translations9Oct2015withupdatedlinksfortheforthcomingtranslations,andtwomoreeditedcollections29
February2016withalinktoBenjaminFraserssecondbookonLefebvreoneotherminorupdateandanoteon
theotherHenriLefebvre.]

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15ResponsestoWheretostartwithreadingHenriLefebvre?
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Caglarsays:
August31,2014at5:31pm

Perhapsasnotessentialasothers,LaPensemarxisteetlavilleisagoodreadtoseeLefebvresattempttoputurbaninto
thecentreofrelationsofproductionasopposedtoclassicalandcontemporary(Castells,Harvey,etc.)Marxisttreatmentof
cities.
Reply

caglarkoksalsays:
August31,2014at5:36pm

Forgottosay,greatarticle!
Reply

stuarteldensays:
August31,2014at5:39pm

ThanksCaglar.Yes,itsanimportantbookanotheroneIvediscussedgettingtranslatedintoEnglish.Hopefullythiswill
Follow
happenintime.
Reply

stuarteldensays:
September28,2015at9:54am

itwillbepublishedbyUniversityofMinnesotaPressinlate2016
Reply

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stuarteldensays:
May23,2016at8:15am

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