Jody Berland's North of Empire represents a culmination of over two decades of distinguished scholarship written from a refreshing Canadian perspective, contributing to the Cultural Studies and Communications disciplines. She joins with and builds on the Canadian voices of Marshall McLuhan and Harold Innis to highlight Canada's unique vantage point from which to gain insight into technology, its role in society, and its impact on conceptions of space and time. North of Empire is a collection of nine of Berland's previously published essays – 10 if one includes the introduction – which she organises thematically (not chronologically) to create a surprisingly fluid and unified work that is beautifully and succinctly written. Her essays build on and reference one another to put forward three main arguments: technology's ‘central’ role in the ‘constitution of social space’; the importance of considering the ‘connection between how space is traversed, how it is narrated, and how it is used’ when constructing cultural narratives (especially those concerned with technology); and the need to evaluate the impact of our socio-technological actions on the natural world (pp. 24–5). While Berland's work is most clearly linked to communication theory and cultural studies, it is also relevant to scholars interested in geography, music, history, feminist theory, and any aspect of Canadian culture.
Berland's introduction effectively introduces her subject matter and arguments, defines terminology, and situates her work in the present body of scholarship. Her nine essays can be grouped into three parts. ‘The first three chapters address the paradoxical articulation of cultural technologies of space with the formation of Canadian nationhood’ (pp. 23–4). Berland begins in Chapter 1 by discussing conceptions of the Canada–US border as a one-way mirror: Canada sees the empire south of the border, while Canadians feel invisible to Americans. Canada's identity crisis and the ways that Canadians try to distinguish themselves from their southern neighbours are also introduced. These themes are contextualised in Chapter 2 with a literature review featuring a compelling reconsideration of the work of Harold Innis. In doing so, Berland emphasises modern imperialism as globalisation via mass media and as ‘time colonized by space’ (p. 72), in forming an understanding of the ‘margin’, which she identifies as ‘any site which requires and enables communities to employ cultural technologies as counterhegemonic tools’ (p. 97). Themes from Chapter 1 are then revisited in Chapter 3: various aspects of Canadian identity are discussed through a lens that stresses notions of space.
In her second group of chapters, Berland applies her theoretical framework to discussions of ‘music, sound technologies, and the production of space’ (p. 24), while maintaining her Canadian perspective. Chapter 4, ‘Angels Dancing: Cultural Technologies and the Production of Space’, considers the spaces in which music is produced and enjoyed, as well as notions of entertainment. Berland's focus on the development of piano and player-piano technology in Chapter 5 is an excellent case study of notions of convenience and obsolescence associated with technology. She then ‘addresses radio as a cultural technology of sound mediating bodies in space’ (p. 186) through exploring radio history, industry and use.
Chapters 7 and 8 shift from music-related technologies to a discussion of weather. After pointing to interactions with cold weather as part of Canadian identity, Berland smoothly transitions into a discussion of how the digital imaging technology responsible for weather forecasts has shaped our understanding of the weather and is linked to space defence technology. She saves her strongest essay for the end: Chapter 9 draws on the themes noted above to discuss correlations between technological and biological evolution, arguing that technological development should not necessarily be equated with progress or improvement. Berland concludes by encouraging her readers to critically evaluate technology and to find ‘better ways to imagine and connect with the physical world’ (p. 298).
While North of Empire is certainly praiseworthy, unfortunately it seems that parts of it may already (and in some cases unavoidably) be out of date. Berland acknowledges in her postscript that ‘the context for this work … has surely passed’ but argues that ‘just because something is past … does not mean it is not present’ (p. 301). The past and present are certainly related, but they are not synonymous, especially when it comes to uses of technology. For example, Berland provides the following statistic: ‘today nearly 100 per cent of Canadians listen to radio each week for an average of around eighteen hours’ (p. 198). She fails to note that radio listening has been steadily declining for several years, especially among audiences under 30. This decline is likely due at least in part to the rise in popularity of the mp3 player, a device which – in spite of its enormous impact on listening practices over the past decade – Berland hardly mentions in her chapter entitled ‘Locating Listening’.
It also seems that Berland's comments regarding Canada's political identity are too tightly bound to a specific time and place. At times Berland's perception of Canada is tainted by a Torontonian bias – one that develops from living in a liberal urban area that is culturally and demographically unique from much of the rest of the country. Furthermore, Canada's political landscape has changed substantially since the publication of North of Empire. Stephen Harper's conservatives won a majority government, and right-wing city councillor Rob Ford became the mayor of Toronto. Meanwhile, the Liberal party won the fewest seats in history at the federal level and lost its majority status in the Ontario parliament. Thus, it appears that Canada is shifting to the right politically, and yet the left-leaning New Democratic Party became the Official Opposition in 2011 for the first time in its history. I wonder if Berland would revise some of her comments on Canada's identity in light of these recent developments. Do Canadians still associate neoconservatism with American difference as she claims (p. 58)? Is Canada becoming ‘Americanized’, or are the political views of Canadians becoming more diverse?
In spite of my comments above, Berland is to be highly commended for North of Empire. In light of Canada's incredible diversity, she writes about Canada's identity as well as can be expected from any individual Canadian. She offers a unique perspective and valuable insights into cultural technology and its relationship to notions of space, time, entertainment, convenience, obsolescence and evolution. North of Empire is at once theoretically grounded, thought-provoking, innovative, convincing and eloquent. Berland's work is an indispensable resource for multiple disciplines, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
