This book has me lost in thought! Addresses are something seemingly minor, but the more you contemplate their significance and origins, the more you realize they are a form of identity. I loved the way Mask breaks down her study of addressing into five parts—development, origins, politics, race, and class and status. By presenting her research and ideas in these smaller chunks, I was able to process her points and come to my own conclusions.
My two favorite sections, however, were origins and class and status. As Mask explains the origins of addressing, she made it clear that addresses were never to make the lives of the people easier, but rather, make the people easily located by the government. In this way, addressing becomes a form of control—a control in which we are reduced to a number, rather than a person. This is no different than the concept of social security numbers in the U.S., but it was interesting to contemplate because I had never equated addresses with that same type of government oversight. Then, there was a chapter in the class and status section focused on homelessness. When you are homeless, you are without an address by the very nature of your condition. But what does that mean? Being without an address is more than just the physical security of a home—it means you are without an address to give the world as you are trying to change your circumstance. Nearly every single job application asks for an address, gaining any form of identification requires an address, and even if you manage to gain identification and employment, rental applications look for address stability in order to determine a potential renter’s worthiness. The more you contemplate the significance of an address in society today, the more you realize that we are wrapped up and consumed by the ways in which the address itself defines us.
I really loved this book primarily because it is very well researched and got me thinking. I read some negative reviews focused on the fact she has a lot of opinions included in the book—but honestly, her opinions are what really had me thinking. What is it about the facts that led her to those conclusions? What conclusions of my own would I reach with the same information? And with the conclusions I reach, what difference can I make on the issue to see change in the world?
The only reason I gave this 4 stars rather than 5 is that I believe 5 star books are not only stellar content, but also, stellar writing. The content was stellar, but the writing is very straight forward, and there is nothing overtly intriguing about it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in thinking and contemplating further about seemingly mundane things in society and the ways in which those small things can actually greatly affect much larger components of our day to day lives.
4 stars
“In the modern world, you are your address.”
This book has me lost in thought! Addresses are something seemingly minor, but the more you contemplate their significance and origins, the more you realize they are a form of identity. I loved the way Mask breaks down her study of addressing into five parts—development, origins, politics, race, and class and status. By presenting her research and ideas in these smaller chunks, I was able to process her points and come to my own conclusions.
My two favorite sections, however, were origins and class and status. As Mask explains the origins of addressing, she made it clear that addresses were never to make the lives of the people easier, but rather, make the people easily located by the government. In this way, addressing becomes a form of control—a control in which we are reduced to a number, rather than a person. This is no different than the concept of social security numbers in the U.S., but it was interesting to contemplate because I had never equated addresses with that same type of government oversight. Then, there was a chapter in the class and status section focused on homelessness. When you are homeless, you are without an address by the very nature of your condition. But what does that mean? Being without an address is more than just the physical security of a home—it means you are without an address to give the world as you are trying to change your circumstance. Nearly every single job application asks for an address, gaining any form of identification requires an address, and even if you manage to gain identification and employment, rental applications look for address stability in order to determine a potential renter’s worthiness. The more you contemplate the significance of an address in society today, the more you realize that we are wrapped up and consumed by the ways in which the address itself defines us.
I really loved this book primarily because it is very well researched and got me thinking. I read some negative reviews focused on the fact she has a lot of opinions included in the book—but honestly, her opinions are what really had me thinking. What is it about the facts that led her to those conclusions? What conclusions of my own would I reach with the same information? And with the conclusions I reach, what difference can I make on the issue to see change in the world?
The only reason I gave this 4 stars rather than 5 is that I believe 5 star books are not only stellar content, but also, stellar writing. The content was stellar, but the writing is very straight forward, and there is nothing overtly intriguing about it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in thinking and contemplating further about seemingly mundane things in society and the ways in which those small things can actually greatly affect much larger components of our day to day lives.