book reviews
and indeed complex and dense, critique of John ficult writing academically about something as
Urry’s sociological notion of the tourist gaze. apparently frivolous and mundane as tourism
Having worked intensively with John Urry, I will photography.
let the reader decide whether this critique is fruit-
ful or not. References
At several times reading this book, it triggered CRANG, M. (1997): ‘Picturing practices: research through the
the distant memory of the excitement, pleasures tourist gaze’, Progress in Human Geography 21 (3): 359–
and disappointments of collecting one’s holiday 373.
photos at a photo-booth. No matter how much we HALDRUP, M. and LARSEN, J. (2009): Tourism, Performance
and the Everyday: Consuming the Orient. Routledge, Lon-
begged for them to turn out great, the delights of don.
laying eyes and hands upon them for the first time ROSE, G. (2007): Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Inter
was always plagued by the almost unavoidably preting Visual Materials. 2nd edn. Sage, London.
“poor” ones. While Kodak has long taught tour- SCARLES, C. (2009): ‘Becoming tourist: renegotiating the visual
in the tourist experience’, Environment and Planning D: Soci
ists that all it requires to take great photographs is ety and Space 27 (3): 465–488.
to press the button (because they did the rest), we
all know that it is difficult to make pleasing holi- Jonas Larsen
day photographs. And while The Framed World: Department of Environmental, Social and Spatial
Tourism, Tourists and Photography contains some Change
nice portraits of tourist photography, as a whole, Roskilde University
this edited book demonstrates that it is also dif- Denmark
The Spaces of Organisation and the Organisa- tion, instead conceptualizing space as a process. In
tion of Space: Power, Identity and Materiality at so doing, they argue that space is not a container
Work. Dale, Karen and Burrell, Gibson. Palgrave for power or politics but a medium by which power
Macmillan, Basingstoke 2008. 328 + xiv pp. 978-0- and politics are communicated. Far from merely
230-57268-3 (pbk). describing and explaining the spatial characteristics
of the modern workplace, the authors attempt to
It would be easy to argue that the so-called spatial explain the organized quality of space itself, by il-
turn in the social sciences is officially old news. lustrating the mutually interdependent relationship
However, it is easy to forget that spatial theory between space and its inhabitants.
works its way into different disciplines in different Throughout the book, Dale and Burrell illustrate
ways, at different times. The idea that work is a spa- the practical applications of Lefebvrian theory via
tially ordered activity has provided us with many a series of case studies. The first half of the book
exciting publications, but students and academics is devoted to examining spaces given over to the
trying to link spatial theory to theories of work and practices of organizing, and the power relations em-
organization may feel that they do not yet have a bedded within these spaces. In a particularly Lefeb-
definitive text to turn to. Thankfully, Karen Dale vrian move, the authors break this huge topic down
and Gibson Burrell have made an excellent attempt into three levels of analysis:
at filling this gap. They supply a concise review of
literature to date, and a series of original and en- (1) Enchantment, referring to how meaning for a
gaging case studies that ground some of the more space is created through symbolism.
“difficult” theory, making this text an ideal starting (2) Emplacement, referring to the “fixed” construc-
point for students. tion of certain places for certain activities and
The book’s title suggests that Dale and Burrell certain people, readable through a grid of intel-
may be writing primarily for students of organiza- ligibility (Foucault 1978 [1976]).
tion and management, yet The Spaces of Organi (3) Enactment, or the ways in which space is used
sation and the Organisation of Space is a critical by those who inhabit it.
text that deserves a wider audience. Following the
work of Henri Lefebvre (1991), the authors reject Focusing particularly on organizational spaces such
the idea of space as a static backdrop for social ac- as the office and the factory, the authors remind us
© The authors 2010
Journal compilation © 2010 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
182
Book reviews
of the ways in which space and power intertwine, relationships that govern everyday life, including
producing space itself and contributing to the sub- employment, consumption and property ownership.
jectification of those who enact it. By conceiving of Part II traces how the project of modernity created
space and the subject as mutually constitutive, the these abstract spaces of capitalism.
authors argue for recognition of the performative They begin by drawing clear historical links be-
character of space. This draws their argument in tween the military in Europe and the organization of
line with work being done in geography by Crouch social space, suggesting that for centuries the army
(2003) and Thrift (2000), who suggest that we must supplied civil as well as military codes of conduct
uncover the ‘the ways in which spaces figure as, to via its ubiquity in the garrison town. Today, military
use that well-worn Foucauldian phrase, technolo- dominance of social space is clearly utilized when
gies of the self’ (Thrift 2000, p. 677). disruption or dissent arises. Military dominance of
Dale and Burrell’s discussion of space and the social space can also be implicit, and resistance to
subject is a particular strength of the book: clear it deeply embedded within social relations. A clear
and concise, it is a fine introduction to the famous- contemporary example, briefly quoted in the book,
ly messy intersection between spatial theory and is the continuing antipathy in Ireland to “garrison
identity politics. Classic case studies of work and sports” such as soccer and rugby, with their Gaelic
identity – such as the Hawthorne studies at Western counterparts being preferred for political and his-
Electric in Chicago – are present and correct but the toric reasons.
authors prefer to focus on contemporary examples, The authors go on to link the formation of the ab-
most notably the redesign of the workplace around stract spaces of capitalism to this long-established
the principles of “the street”, or an idealized public military mentality, via an explanation of the way
space. An extended case study of DEGW, a design that the military arsenal came to symbolize efficien-
company charged with the design of Google’s head- cy, rationality and technological advancement. Put
quarters, and the re-design of the British Treasury, simply, these characteristics closely link the military
allows the authors to work through complicated mindset to the principles of Taylorism that came to
theories about cultural engineering and the spatial pervade the workplace, while arsenals themselves
layout of the workplace. For Dale and Burrell, the become sites of inter-organizational expertise used
emphasis in contemporary workplaces is on spe- to standardize weaponry, generate profit, maintain
cifically geographical concepts such as flow, liquid- property rights and latterly, to defend capitalism
ity and placelessness and yet also, on community, from its enemies. The authors then go on to discuss
surveillance and aestheticized consumption. Dale the clear links between the obsession with borders,
and Burrell use the contradictions inherent in the protection and defence that characterizes the mili-
“new” spaces of organization to work through com- tary mentality and the clear boundaries inscribed
plex theories of collective and individual identity, and reified within many social spaces, including
without ever assuming a determinist relationship formerly private spaces such as the home.
between workplace and worker. Part II’s case studies are pleasingly esoteric
In Part II of the book, the authors’ focus moves – before reading this book I had not stopped to
from a discussion of the spaces of organization to a think about how my fruitless quest to find televised
more theoretical discussion of the organization of soccer in Dublin a few weeks ago could possibly
spaces, in a bid to examine the organized quality be linked to my IKEA kitchen – but their point is
of space itself. Read as a whole, Part II represents clear, that the creation of defensible spaces and
a strong critique of organizational and social theory spaces given over the purposes of defence are in-
that chooses to ignore the material, spatial and em- trinsically linked to the rise of capitalism. Capital-
bodied characteristics of social processes and prac- ist ideologies now pervade every aspect of design,
tices. Via two remarkable case studies, that of the whether it be of public or private space, office or
spatial organization of warfare and of the spatial home, arsenal or kitchen.
organization of the home, the authors render visible Dale and Burrell’s text is well thought-out and
the close relationship between seemingly distinct highly readable, but ironically, the book’s organiza-
spheres, in this case the military arsenal, and the tion borders on the baroque. A glut of subheadings
fitted kitchen. The authors argue that we now live and minor theoretical tangents distract from the
with well-accepted notions of the sanctity of per- focus of each chapter, making it difficult to follow
sonal property and the contractual, power-suffused the authors’ train of thought. In a similar vein, the
© The authors 2010
Journal compilation © 2010 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
183
book reviews
book’s sheer scope sometimes left this reader in a Organisation of Space has the potential to appeal to
complete muddle; in particular, Part II’s summary a wide audience, including students of organization,
of the project of modernity moved at such a merry management and geography.
pace that it took several re-reads before I felt justi-
fied in moving along. At times the strengths of the
book – the quick pace, lively writing, case studies References
peppered with references to choice spatial theory CROUCH, D. (2003): ‘Spacing, performing and becoming: tan-
gles in the mundane’, Environment and Planning A 35 (1):
– can be overwhelming, but the sheer number of 1945–1960.
theorists and writers whose work is covered make FOUCAULT, M. (1978 [1976]): The History of Sexuality, vol. 1.
the book an excellent springboard for students of Pantheon, New York.
organization and management who perhaps want to LEFEBVRE, H. (1991 [1974]): The Production of Space. Black-
well, Oxford.
bring a more geographical slant to their work, or THRIFT, N. (2000): ‘Performing cultures in the new economy’,
vice versa. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 90 (4):
Quibbling aside, Dale and Burrell have produced 674–692.
a timely book which attempts to pull together many
disparate strands of spatial theory via a series of high- Ealasaid Munro
ly original case studies. In particular, this reviewer Institute of Geography
was mightily impressed by the neat introduction to School of GeoSciences
the intersection between spatial theory and identity University of Edinburgh
politics. With its lively and informal – though never United Kingdom
demotic – style, The Spaces of Organisation and the
The Awkward Spaces of Fathering. Aitken, Stuart makes the case throughout the book (but at length in
C. Ashgate, Farnham 2009. 253 + xii pp. 978-0- Chapter 2 and the Conclusion) that while a focus on
7546-7005-6 (hbk). co-parenting might appear potentially liberating for
fathers it does not go far enough in giving voice to
The purpose at the heart of The Awkward Spaces of the full role of fathers as ‘men’s co-parenting tends
Fathering is to elaborate upon previously missing to be seen as interdependent with, in opposition to,
constructs and theories of space and fatherhood in and at times, less than mothering’ (p. 31). Aitken
Aitken’s earlier work (2005) through the lives and carefully clarifies that he is not implying that fa-
voices of men who are fathers. The book examines thering can be defined in isolation from mother-
the historical transformation of contemporary father- ing. Rather, he argues for the day-to-day work of
ing within the changing context of Anglo-American fathering in its multitude of forms to be brought to
society with particular focus on events over the last the fore. In other words, fatherhood is an important
twenty years. Aitken makes the case for how popu- space and area of study in its own right. In order to
lar media and empirically-based social science stud- make this case Aitken rejects notions of fathers as
ies have influenced the ways in which fathers are embedded in everyday family life as this implies a
understood in society. He discusses the changes to hierarchical structure, and places men’s lives ‘be-
family type and structure as well as increased par- sides their fathering, beside their families, besides
ticipation by women in the labour market that have their community’ (p. 19) to provide insights into the
led to shifts in familial power relations. emotional work of fathering.
The story outlined as taken for granted that no- According to the author, the structure of the
tions of “fathers” have evolved from one of a dis- book is merely a pedagogical device; however, this
tant figurehead, to today’s father as economic pro- can not be read as a reference book as each chapter
vider, friend, carer, emotional actor and masculine builds on the last. To help understand the shape and
role model, all rolled into one. Aitken argues that aims of the book and follow the author’s arguments
family practices can now be understood in terms of the introduction is a ‘must read’ chapter. Each chap-
co-parenting and attributes of motherhood identi- ter sets out to encounter fathering in a different way
fied with socio-economic and emotional provision to highlight the variegated notions of fathering ‘that
should equally apply to current-day fathers. Aitken circle around journeys, homes, places and commu-
© The authors 2010
Journal compilation © 2010 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
184
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