Tending the Gardens of Citizenship

'Tending the Gardens of Citizenship clearly advances the narrative of child welfare in Canada. This is a very strong book and the fact that Chen further advances knowledge with the depth and breadth of her research is indicative of its elegance. A distinctive contribution it makes is the rigorous intellectual approach to the technologies of social welfare, and Chen's analysis of the interplay between technique, power, metaphor, and prescriptive practice is brilliant.' -- Ken Moffat, School of Social Work, Ryerson University 'Tending the Gardens of Citizenship offers a great deal to the reader. It is accessibly written, rich in historical documentary detail, and enlightening in its use of deconstructive techniques. The issues Chen addresses from a comparative historical perspective are critical to debate today on child welfare in many countries. This is a major contribution to the field.' -- Peter Leonard, School of Social Work, McGill University

This book marks a serious advancement in the study of Canadian social history, critical analysis of child welfare, and governmentality studies in social work.

At the threshold of the ‘social’ era (1880s–1920s) in Canada, the idea of ‘child saving’ emerged within the framework of building national citizenship, aimed at ensuring that children – the ‘future citizens’ – would grow up to be useful, self-controlled, Christian adults. Child saving work connected the conduct of individuals with issues of societal importance and attempted to install a desirable mode of power in child rearing and child saving that can best be described as ‘the gardening governmentality.’

Tending the Gardens of Citizenship takes a Foucauldian approach to child saving work during the beginning of the social era in Toronto and demonstrates the difference between the positions of children in citizenship politics at that time and today. Xiaobei Chen breaks new ground with her critical observation of current canonical ideas and practices centred around ‘keeping kids safe.’ She demonstrates that the protection of children from parental abuse and neglect is best understood as an interest that has undergone radical historical transformations, depending on the political and social projects of the day. This book marks a serious advancement in the study of Canadian social history, critical analysis of child welfare, and governmentality studies in social work.