Space as Material Culture

The concept of space continues to represent a challenging category in the field of sociology owing to its implicitly referring to the material dimension of things. Following the “spatial turn” in the social sciences, relational definitions of space have prevailed, yet there is still a clear lack of systematic research. However, the concept seems ideally suited to grasp the configurational nexus of complex relationship between performativity, iconicity and materiality more accurately. The presentation introduces space as a cultural sociological concept and shows recent examples of how space constitutes social meaning.