Social Distance: Interactions and Spatial Dynamics

This lecture explores the fundamental concept of distance in human societies, highlighting the necessity of contact for social reproduction, cooperation, and cultural diffusion. It delves into historical examples of forced separations and unequal spatial arrangements, such as apartheid in South Africa. The lecture also introduces key vocabulary related to spatial dynamics, including ubiquity, enclavement, and mobility. It discusses how humans manage distances through copresence, mobility, and telecommunication, emphasizing the interplay between these modalities. The concept of 'coopetition' is introduced to describe the complex relationships between different distance management methods, using examples from institutional relations and urban networks.