This book has long been in the making, but it would not have been written
were it not for the existence of institutions such as the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada, which provided funding for the
research, and my own academic institution, the School of Sociological and
Anthropological Studies at the University of Ottawa. It is an enormous
privilege to receive part of the national wealth, generated through taxation,
in the form of research funding, and as a salary to teach, research, and
participate in communities of knowledges. For this, I wish to express my
deepest gratitude.
It is typical in the acknowledgements of academic books to name the
readers and interlocutors, both known and anonymous, to thank them
for their contributions. Such acknowledgements remind us that academic
research is always already a collective effort. I have greatly profited from
comments, critiques, and insights from many individuals. They know
who they are because I have thanked them in person. I reiterate my profound
gratefulness for the collective nature of academic work.