Abstract
Disorientation is itself a disorienting topic. The study of disorientation ranges from fields as diverse as human geography, neuroscience and feminist studies, to the study of search and rescue operations. Consequently, stepping into Marcella Schmidt di Friedberg’s Geographies of Disorientation is to step into the labyrinth and follow Ariadne’s thread. Instead of aiming for an overriding narrative or a definite analysis, the author embraces the diversity of the study of disorientation, using multiple perspectives to explore alternative interpretations of the phenomenon of getting lost.
The author’s approach is heavily indebted to the methods of human geography, but it elegantly addresses a multiplicity of fields. The success of this strategy lies in the book’s virtue of staying away from heavy theorising, thus navigating an intricate body of literature without turning away readers unacquainted with the different fields that the book touches on. This makes the book highly accessible, serving as a gateway for scholars to come in contact with unfamiliar fields, always through the lens of disorientation.
This multifaceted strategy is expounded in the opening pages, and it serves as the framework for the rest of the book. The introduction makes an important differentiation between the uncanny and the delightful feelings of disorientation in an effort to highlight the radically different effects that being lost can have and also the radically different ways in which disorientation itself can be understood. One threat Schmidt confronts in the introduction is that of placelessness and globalisation. From the start, the book is concerned with how disorientation can be seen as a metaphor for the post-modern and fragmented globalised world, and this metaphor is a recurring theme in the text.
The book divides into three parts. Part I introduces the subject of disorientation from a geographical perspective. Chapter 1 explores disorientation in relation to language and culture, with a particular emphasis on the variety of reference points (landmarks, stars, winds, etc.) and systems (such as maps, the wind rose or the compass) used for orientation. Chapter 2 reviews the psychology and neuroscience literature on navigation behaviour and on cognitive maps. Chapter 3 revisits the historical philosophical debate on space and its links with orientation and disorientation from Leibniz and Kant to phenomenology and post-phenomenology. Part I concludes with a discussion of the links between migration and disorientation.
Although there is a thematic development, it was my impression that the chapters in parts II and III can be read in any order, which gives the reader the freedom of choosing his or her own itinerary through the book. Part II takes advantage of the geographical structure developed in Part I to explore the theme of ‘difference’ in orientation. Here, the author follows the line of post-structural thought to explore how disorientation may be ‘an effect of differences as well as a mechanism for their reproduction’. 1 Chapter 3 looks at disorientation in relation to gender issues and proposes a lived-body approach to transcend the Western mind-body dualism. Chapter 4 deals with the debate around instinct in orientation (in humans and non-humans) and the use of this debate in discriminatory practices. Chapter 5 looks at different clinical conditions that affect orientation (such as Anterograde Amnesia, or Developmental Topographical Disorientation) and at spatial cognition under the effect of drugs.
Paradoxically, it is the labyrinth metaphor that offers an ongoing point of reference throughout Part III, which discusses places that might best help us comprehend disorientation. Chapter 7 is a study of the labyrinth as a place of disorientation. In Chapter 8, the author discusses the city as a new kind of labyrinth. Chapter 9 explores wilderness (in particular the woods), which has so often been cast as a place of disorientation in the cultural imaginary. The final chapter of the book, Chapter 10, explores disorientation in relation to cyberspace and the world of art.
It is not easy to find significant weaknesses in Geographies of Disorientation. There might be themes, however, which Schmidt could have explored in more depth. One such theme is the use of disorientation as a tool of political resistance. The book explores how disorientation appears as a central element in different approaches (Guy Debord’s psychogeography is a good example), but the lack of a consolidating analysis makes it difficult to extrapolate these into a more general theory. Of course, this shortcoming is in accordance with the book’s overall stance, which is synthetic rather than analytic, and the author offers copious references for further reading. Nevertheless, there are times when this approach leaves the reader wanting more.
At times, a slight difficulty arises from the abundance of sources, not least because of the author’s predilection for quoting rather than paraphrasing. There are certain passages in which the multiplicity of voices requires an attentive effort on the part of the reader to follow the line of thought of the overarching text. Here again, the difficulty is not so much a flaw on the part of the author as the collateral effect of a stylistic choice.
Overall, Geographies of Disorientation is a fascinating book and essential reading for those interested in disorientation and its links to a wide variety of fields. Without pushing any theoretical agenda, this book opens the ground for interdisciplinary work that embraces the different aspects of disorientation. Just as disorientation can at times be overwhelming and delightful, in this book, the reader is immersed in many different instances of the phenomena, from uncanny and ‘othering’ disorientation, to instances of disorientation as a refreshing act of resistance and freedom. Thus, when the reader finally leaves the labyrinth, they may feel dazed but also exhilarated about the new horizons opened by the book.