Territory and place: the spatiality under debate in the Social and Solidarity Economy. Conceptual approaches based on concrete rural experiences

Abstract

In recent decades, we attend the so-called spatial turn in the social sciences. This is an ongoing process where the spatiality of social phenomena acquires great relevance for different disciplinary approaches. However, as researchers we are constantly faced with the challenge of choosing geographical concepts that allow us to explain our objects-subjects of analysis. This text seeks to share this theoretical dilemma, focusing on the concepts of territory and place as possible analytical tools for the study of associative productive processes within the framework of the Social and Solidarity Economy. To do so, we develop some aspects of the mentioned spatial turn and deepen the production of space from the economic alternatives pointed out. Then, we propose the constellation of geographical concepts as a theoretical catalogue from which the notions of territory and place are taken. Thus, we describe the main dimensions of both terms based on a couple of case studies linked to the rural context of the province of Mendoza. Finally, we present some considerations and conclusions on the different theoretical and practical aspects involved in the choice of geographical concepts.