Buses and stations in a Spanish Southern city

Mobility as a privileged space

Abstract

In the work you can find descriptive narratives born from the reflection of the ethical observation of fieldwork, the deep reading of other monographs and the interweaving with critical theory and its tradition. One of the important milestones on this road is the detailed study of a bus station in a city in southern Spain. As for the buses, two levels are analyzed: small one corresponding to the practices of the subjects inside the buses where many things happen inside and although everything seems conceived for enormous discipline and control of the subjects, there is also time for leisure, rest, and social interaction at many levels. There is another higher level where analysis is made as a device where the elements coexist in function of rules and connections, but they are also forces in discussion where agendas and arenas are constantly tested. In the last pages, the author reflects on the importance of understanding these privileged objects and spaces to understand post-capitalist society and how these elements influence our daily lives and the construction of certain cultural identity.