A part to play.
Something you can do that makes a difference—and a way to know your contribution matters.
Forthcoming · Nonfiction
Unplacement
A Study of Belonging
in a Changing World
The world can move on
without you leaving.
A historical and cultural inquiry into what happens when the places, roles and relationships that give life its shape begin to change.
A place in a world that moves on.History. Culture. Technology. Belonging.Begin here
The question at the heart of the book
Still here.
But where do you stand?
A place is more than somewhere to live. It is a part to play, people who recognize you, and some influence over what happens next.
What happens when those connections loosen—even while life becomes more efficient, more comfortable, or more connected?
Unplacement follows that question across ancient citizenship, Irish place names, bicycles, recorded music and the unfolding transformation of AI. It examines both the possibilities change opens and the places it can take away.
Start with “Everything Works”More than a question of work
Three things a place can give us.
A world to belong to.
Language, music, habits and relationships that make a place recognizable as yours.
A say in what comes next.
The ability to take part in decisions, beyond being asked to approve what has already been arranged.
Inside the book
Different worlds.
A question that returns.
The shape of the inquiry
Across time.
Into the present.
Ten chapters, an introduction and a conclusion. Historical lives meet contemporary evidence, with source notes throughout.
Read selected passages ↗—
Everything Works
Introduction
01
Still Here
Belonging, usefulness and a consequential part in the world.
02
The World on Two Wheels
Bicycles, freedom, exclusion and the terms of participation.
03
Citizens Without a Say
Athens and Rome: when the office outlasts the authority.
04
The Weather Before the Storm
Weather, markets and political choices in revolutionary France.
05
The Country That Stayed
Language, land and the changing terms of Irish life.
06
The Sound of a Place
Music, community, recording and who gets to make a living.
07
Counting in the Middle
What the evidence about AI can—and cannot—tell us.
08
Who Gets to Say We
Provision, belonging and a say in collective decisions.
09
The Next Few Years
Four possible paths through a changing world.
10
What Could They Have Known?
Anticipation, unequal choices and the limits of hindsight.
—
Somewhere to Stand
Conclusion
From the blog
Notes on belonging.
The world can move on without you leaving
An introduction to Unplacement, and why belonging involves more than having a job or an address.
Read the essay 3 minute read