If I am right in my guess (my confidence level is actually middle-low), the three authors of the book you are translating (Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, Helen Tiffin) might be using the verb “to cut” in a figurative sense in this context, They are actually resorting in the title to an expression used in archaeology to describe the operations of truncation or cutting performed in the ground (see please explanation below in the Wikipedia link).

However, I would not use “cortando el terreno”, as I am convinced that a literal translation cannot work well here. Therefore, I suggest “diseccionando el terreno”, which is perfectly comprehensible to the Spanish-speaking readership, or, if you prefer, “analizando el terreno”, which conveys exactly the same meaning.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_(archaeology)
In archaeology and archaeological stratification a cut or truncation is a context that represents a moment in time when other archaeological deposits were removed for the creation of some feature such as a ditch or pit. In layman's terms, a cut can be thought of a hole that was dug in the past, though cut also applies to other parts of the archaeological record such as horizontal truncations like terraced ground.

https://dle.rae.es/srv/search?m=30&w=truncar
truncar.
1. tr. Cortar una parte a algo.