Necessary Travel: New Area Studies and Canada in Comparative Perspective ed. by Susan Hodgett and Patrick James (review)

Susan Hodgett and Patrick James bring together a collection of eleven essays (together with introductory and concluding chapters) which explore aspects of what is termed New Area Studies, with an emphasis on global trends in addition to a focused examination of themes specific to Canadian Studies.

In general, the edited volume is a timely effort to draw attention to the latent potential of area studies in addition to highlighting recent methodological and conceptual innovations of significance within the broader field of study. The collection is imbued with a desire to utilise the strengths of area studies in order to address the trivialisation of social, cultural and economic complexity with respect to rapidly changing regional, national and global contexts. Linked to this is a general sense that area studies has often in the past failed to impose itself on general interpretations of contemporary events, and this in spite of the fact that its practitioners typically embody an array of skills (e.g. linguistic) and insider knowledge which encourage a nuanced interpretation of such events. Reflecting on this, the two editors suggest in their introduction that 'there remains a strong and evident need to understand peoples, cultures and places comprehensively and comparatively in an era of rapid change' (p. 4; emphasis in original). Furthermore, they see New Area Studies as an intellectual movement capable of addressing these concerns.

Another key aspect of the edited collection is its emphasis on the vitality and scope of New Area Studies. Where traditional area studies might have dwelt on the specifics of regions of interest in a somewhat blinkered and formal manner, often descending into detailed description or statistical analysis, New Area Studies is positioned as more outward-looking, more willing to engage with people, and more openly questioning both of its subject matter and its own practices and identities. This has implications for the way in which associated research is carried out and communicated.

The ambition of New Area Studies is captured effectively within the edited collection with contributions ranging from self-conscious reflections on the state of the field and the benefits (both theoretical and empirical) of a revitalised area studies approach (e.g. Sadan, Hutchings, Coates) through to interrogations of the interdisciplinary potential of area studies (e.g. Gatrell, Gleave). The various chapters hint at the way in which New Area Studies might advance a mature research agenda based on a sophisticated combining of different disciplinary insights and associated methodologies allied to a genuine commitment to a particular sociocultural region or context. Indeed, the attempt by several authors to sketch out ways forward is one of the strengths of the volume taken as a whole.

The task before New Area Studies is not an easy one. Its commitment to both comprehensive insight and comparative analysis is a challenge for the individuals involved as well as for the institutional structures within which many academics work. While traditional area studies was often undermined by the changing strategic interests of the state, such influence remains an issue of concern for practitioners of the newly reformulated area studies endeavour. This edited collection provides an effective introduction to the changing character and ambition of area studies and a valuable insight into the potential of area studies for furthering our understanding of contemporary societal change.