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Camps: A Guide to 21st-Century Space

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"Camps" is on the ROROTOKO list of cutting-edge intellectual nonfiction. Professor Hailey's book interview ran here as cover feature on September 2, 2009.

As school ends, camp approaches. Whether the kids love 'em or hate 'em, parents crave the structured time. And the potholders.

This delightful book floats the simple premise that camps define the temporary landscapes of twenty-first century globalization. For Hailey, "camp" is a Big Tent Term that zones the log cabins and RVs of self-improvement and infinite mobility alongside the dark disciplinary barracks of ethnic cleansing, environmental disaster, and the war on terror.

This MIT production is attractively designed by Emily Gutheinz to evoke the field guides of yore. The volume bears a a Kraft paper jacket, an exposed binding, and small reference-style photos and drawings throughout. Gutheinz handles the theming with a light touch, like a Girl Scout earning her Grunge badge. So, too, Hailey writes about Agamben as if he were penning a postcard from the BN, showing us how to pack some heavy ideas into carry-on luggage.