About EdgeNet
EdgeNet is the Regional Studies Association research network on peripheral places and regions (and why they matter). We advocate and amplify impactful research on, from, and for the diverse places and regions that are ‘non-core’ or on the ‘edge’ of core activities, including but not limited to: rural, peri-urban, post-industrial, de-populating, and remote areas.
EdgeNet seeks to understand peripheries as multi-dimensional and multi-scalar, in space and over time. Neither peripheries nor the many terms research and policy use to describe them (e.g., ‘marginal’, ‘remote’, ‘less-developed’) are homogenous. Not all peripheries are ‘left-behind’. Some core-periphery relationships are writ large in colonial histories and global economic flows. Some peripheral regions divide into cores and peripheries at local scales. Some cores have changed to peripheries (and some back again) over time.
We consider the ways in which edges are fluid and exist both spatially and ideationally. By exploring edges as interactions between societies and space, EdgeNet raises critical questions about marginality, stigma, displacement, and justice.
EdgeNet also encourages experimental methodologies and heterodox theoretical perspectives that might themselves be on the edge of Regional Studies – or take Regional Studies to the cutting edge of contemporary cross-disciplinary debates on spatial differences and divisions in the global economy.
Our aims
EdgeNet aims to:
- Reinvigorate the study of peripheral places and regions, advancing conversations beyond limited views of ‘lagging regions’ and ‘left-behind places’.
- Bring expertise across disciplines, methods, and theories together in an inclusive research community.
- Facilitate opportunities for knowledge exchange, which engage with and learn from multiple regions in global contexts.
- Grow the presence and profile of research on peripheries and its people within the RSA.
- Engage policy and practice audiences to share evidence and experience.
- Foster future edgy scholarship through opportunities for PhD and early career researchers.
How to get involved
EdgeNet reflects the growing community of researchers who are shaping critical conversations on peripheries and peripherality within – and beyond – Regional Studies. We welcome diverse expertise and edgy thinking that contributes to scholarship, informs policy and practice, and helps regions to thrive on their own terms.
To express your interest in EdgeNet and join our email discussion list, complete the form here: https://forms.office.com/e/7SwQ5bzpNP
To follow our work, look for #EdgyMatters. You’ll also find us at our ‘Edgy Matters’ special sessions at RSA conferences.
To join our discussion and announcement list sign up here: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/search.html?q=edgenet