One of the major differences between the traditional sociology of knowledge as practiced in the early twentieth century and what might be called the new sociology of knowledge lies in the preoccupation of the letter with space. Despite Mannheim’s famous contrast between French and German styles of thought around the year 1800, the old sociology of knowledge, strong on history, was weak on geography. However, the so-called spatial turn of the later twentieth century has made an impact in this field as elsewhere. Space was recurrent theme in the work of Michel Foucault, for instance, especially microspaces such as the clinic and the prison. Knowledge, once seen as objective and universal, has come to be regarded as situated in space as well as in society and in time. The question ‘Where are you coming from?’ is asked more and more frequently in intellectual debates.