Non-Place Author: [France] Marc Auger Publisher: Zhejiang University Press

“A non-place is the opposite of a utopia: it exists, but it offers no shelter for any organic society.”

If a place is a place of belonging, relation and history, then a space without belonging, relation and history defines a "non-place". This type of space was born in a hypermodern situation, which is defined by the acceleration of history, the proliferation of events and the surplus of space. "Non-place" refers to the necessary facilities (such as highways, railway stations, airports, etc.) generated by the accelerated flow of people or things, as well as the means of transportation themselves, and also includes large hotels, supermarkets and other places with large traffic. It exists, but it does not serve as a shelter for any organic society. "Non-place" is different from the place where individuals gather and socialize in modern society. "Non-place" has the spatial characteristics of hypermodernity. Through a certain symbolic contractual relationship, people show their identity in "non-place" and gain an anonymous existence. Through the observation and description of this place in the modern city, the author puts forward the concept of "non-place" to further understand some of the focuses of current anthropology and field research.

This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand our hypermodern situation.

——The Guardian

Rarely is a book so intellectually stimulating that it is hard to put down, and Marc Auger's Non-Place is such an exceptional book - it delivers a powerful message in a gentle manner and stands out as a unique and refreshing anthropological voice. - Contemporary Anthropology

Shopping malls, freeways, airport concourses—we are all familiar with these ubiquitous yet often overlooked peculiar spaces. But only now have their profound impacts on public and private experience been fully examined. Marc Auger has become a professional anthropologist of these spaces, writing a timely and original book.

--Patrick Wright, Professor of Human Geography, University of Exeter

About the Author