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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Stephen Graham, Dr Charlotte VealORCiD, Michael MulvihillORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
This paper critically examines the contested and uneven ways in which societies confront, manipulate, and leverage gravity. In human geography, gravity has been conceptualised as a constant benign force. Implicit in geographical thinking, rarely has it been made explicit to the formation of complex socio-spatial relationships. Grounded in post-humanist, post-phenomenological thought, this paper develops an ontopolitical account, emphasising gravity’s profound influence on all aspects of cultural, economic and political life. Four tenets are outlined to illustrate: talking-living; flows; falling, collapsing, sinking; and orbits, escape, weaponisation. The conclusion calls for a gravitational research agenda and proposes three directions for future enquiry.
Author(s): Graham S, Veal C, Mulvihill M
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Progress in Human Geography
Year: 2025
Issue: ePub ahead of Print
Online publication date: 09/12/2025
Acceptance date: 21/11/2025
Date deposited: 21/11/2025
ISSN (print): 0309-1325
ISSN (electronic): 1477-0288
Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/03091325251405454
DOI: 10.1177/03091325251405454
ePrints DOI: 10.57711/0j4v-xq38
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