Although it may be possible to distinguish the various streams that comprise Social Geography, these fluid currents flow together to create a vast body of inter-and-intra-disciplinary study. This book attempts to capture the holistic essence of this field as well as highlight its rich thematic and areal diversity. Organized society and its institutions and characteristics over space go back to prehistoric times. It is no surprise then, that the field of social geography presents a full panoply of subjects of study.

Since its establishment as a recognized sub-field of geography in the twentieth century, Social Geography has continuously evolved to reflect the changing socioeconomic and political climate. Thus, the birth of radical geographies of feminism, the increased volume of alternate voices of transnationalism, postcolonialism and emerging geographies, the embracing of postmodernist methodologies and tools of interpretivism, the adoption of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing techniques to tackle social themes of study and so on. Such rapid changes necessitate the need for revisiting the state of the field every so often, while maintaining a connection with its traditional roots and themes.

Therein lies the significance of this book. The current work presents a number of contributions that provide an overview of the works that laid the foundation for Social Geography, or themselves address some of the traditional themes in Social Geography, such as art and culture, urbanism and crime, and social institutions of caste, class, and religion.