Mapping the Present assesses the relationship between Foucault and Heidegger, particularly on the issue of space and history. It suggests that space and history need to be rethought, and combined as a spatial history, rather than as a history of space. In other words, space should become not merely an object of analysis, but a tool of analysis. The first half of the book concentrates on Heidegger: from the early occlusion of space, through the politically charged readings of Nietzsche and H0lderlin, to the later work on art, technology and the polis. Foucault’s work is then rethought through Heidegger, and the project of a spatial history established through re-readings of his works on madness and discipline