Book review forum. Towards an intimacy ‘turn’ and the development of intimacy ‘languages’ in geography

With her book Transnational Geographies of The Heart, Katie Walsh convincingly calls for an intimacy ‘turn’ in geography. Her core argument is wide and far-reaching. Simply stated, intimacy is ‘at the heart of meaningful social life’ (Walsh, 2018: 145). And her main ambition in this book is to open up an understanding of intimate subjectivities as broad personal relationships. I will review this book in a three-fold way: firstly, her ‘push’ for this ‘intimacy turn’ in the discipline. Then, I will reflect on her contribution to what can be called ‘intimacy languages’ in geography. Finally, I will discuss the disciplinary horizon of intimacy in geographical thought, both in the past and for future inquiries.