| Manuel Castells is a renowned urban sociologist and network sociologist in the West,and he was also one of the earliest initiators of the “Spatial Turn” movement in France in mid-20 th century.Since the publication of his early classic work The Urban Question in 1972,the thoughts of Manuel Castells have gone through a long course of evolution,which can be divided into two phases: the “structuralism-Marxism” thought in the early phase(in the 1960 s and 1970s)and the “information-consumption capitalism” thought in the later phase(after the 1980 s and 1990s).The two phases marked two turns in his aesthetic consciousness about modernity.Spatial research was a focus academic topic for Castells,and the transformation of space-time consciousness highlighted the turn in his aesthetic research paradigm.In the middle and late 20 th century,the “Spatial Turn” movement surging in the transformation of western modern culture into post-modern culture profoundly influenced the production of discourse theories and the narrative ideographic strategy in the field of humanities and social sciences,which has become an indisputable fact.In the western postmodern space knowledge pedigree,Manuel Castells’ space thoughts not only have the similarity of the cultural criticism to space family theory,but also have the characteristics of theoretical temperament differences because of its unique"social structure-analyzing mode" and "information technology research path".From the "structural space" based on the urban modernization in the 1970 s to the "mobile space" constructed by relying on the development of network information technology in the 1980 s,the change of Castells’ space concept is a profound metaphor for the structural transformation in the relationship throughout western culture society and modes of space production in recent years.Therefore,by examining and analyzing the two masks of Castells’ space culture thoughts,which are the spatial views of"structuralism-Marxism doctrine" and "information-consumption capitalism”,we can discover and explain the multidimensional aspects of cultural and social roots,theoretical discourses and aesthetic political metaphors behind the transformation of space,so as to further correct the study of contemporary space cultural ecology.In the introduction part,the paper introduces the life experiences and academic achievement of Castells,and summarizes the research status regarding Castells’ thoughts at home and abroad.The second and third chapters focus on a number of core concepts covering “structural space,space of flows,collective consumption,network society,timeless time,elite culture”,and expound the cultural meanings of the“Structuralist Marxism” spatial thought in the early phase and the “Information Consumption Capitalism” spatial thought in the later phase to explore deeper into the spatial characteristics displayed by the two thoughts in different historical stages and social environments.The second and fourth chapters put forward the concept of “two masks” in the spatial culture theory of Castells and analyze the occurrence mechanism of two spatial concepts in detail.Starting with aesthetic Utopia and the philosophy of spatial culture,the two chapters also explore the inner core of “two masks”: “analysis of social structural model” from the Marxist perspective in the early phase and“observation of flowing power relations” based on information technology and capital media in the later phase.By exploring deeper into the inner changing texture of his aesthetic modernity thought,the paper offers a glimpse into the character differences of Castells’ space-culture thoughts in the post-industrial age and the information age. |
