Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Andrea Drugan of Polity for the encouragement and forbearance that saw this book get off the ground – and land again. I first prepared its content for a series of seminar papers at the University of Queensland, Australia, and I am grateful to my colleagues in the School of Architecture for their advice and encouragement, and the students of my 2008 and 2009 M.Arch classes for their provocations and intense discussions. A research grant from the School of Architecture furthermore enabled me to cover the cost of illustrations. I hope the many individuals who have offered me valuable suggestions, corrections and criticism will forgive the necessary economy of naming three readers who had a decisive impact on the book’s final form, specifically John Harwood, Pieter Martens and Paul Walker. Polity’s anonymous proposal and manuscript reviewers were right on the mark in their criticisms, and the book benefited substantially from their contribution. The University of Queenland’s Centre for the History of European Discourses provided stimulating company and a quiet place to work when I needed it – thanks especially to Peter Cryle, Ian Hunter and Ryan Walter. John Macarthur helped me to iron out several of my positions; the book records my side of our occasional but stimulating discussions on its theme. I owe a deep debt to Bart Verschaffel and my former colleagues at Ghent University, where I was fortunate to return as a visiting research fellow as I put the final edits to bed. All of these debts notwithstanding, unless I indicate otherwise the views in this book are my own, as are the errors of fact and omission. Ben Wilson helped with editing of the first draft, and the production team at Polity expertly saw this book into press. Thanks go particularly to Jonathan Skerrett, Lauren Mulholland and Leigh Mueller. My family – Ruth, Katie, Chelsea and Amelia – have offered the right blend of encouragement and distraction. Ruth, especially, has once more given me her unflinching support, for which I remain infinitely grateful. Our daughter Amelia was not yet born when I committed to this title. For better or worse it has been in the background of her first two years, and it seems only right that I dedicate it to her.