Search Results for: CASTAC

When Cash Rules: A Local Researcher/Activist’s Fieldnotes on “Passive Locals” Living Around Mailiao’s Petrochemical Complex

Lin Hung-Yang August 17, 2021
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Yunlin is a coastal county in Western Taiwan famous for its agricultural produce, also known as “the barn of Taiwan.” However, the exchange value of agricultural produce has plummeted significantly since the 1970s. This has led to the outmigration of the underemployed able-bodied rural workforce to the cities, leaving behind the old and the young. As a consequence of this migration and Yunlin’s agricultural history, the county developed a reputation for being backward and poor. Residents of Yunlin have been eager to prove this stereotype wrong. (read more...)

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被錢收買而無視污染的地方居民？一個返鄉青年的石化廠邊觀察筆記

Lin Hung-Yang August 17, 2021
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雲林縣是台灣西部的濱海縣市，以豐饒的農產品聞名，被稱為「台灣糧倉」。但隨著1960、70年代台灣農業產值下降，工商業快速發展，導致大量鄉村農民移入都市尋求機會。雲林青壯年人口外流非常嚴重，只剩老人與小孩留守。雲林人窮怕了，因此當台塑公司的第六套輕油裂解廠計畫在其他縣市處處碰壁時，雲林縣的政治人物積極遊說，最終於1991年宣布落腳麥寮鄉，縣民歡欣鼓舞地迎接大企業的到來。六輕於雲林縣麥寮鄉西側海濱填海造陸，1998年開始營運，佔地將近21平方公里，是全世界規模最大的石化工業區之一。年產值高達1.5兆元，更佔了全台灣年度GDP的10%左右。 六輕為沿海地區帶來了大量的就業機會與經濟貢獻，卻也衍生出許多汙染爭議。2009年，台大公衛學院教授詹長權的研究成果指出，六輕設廠後鄰近地區空氣中的有毒物質與居民尿液中重金屬的濃度均顯著增加，癌症發生率也遠高於其他地區。這是六輕造成的危害第一次在社會大眾面前公開揭露，引發輿論的譁然。2010與2011兩年內，六輕更連續發生多起嚴重的爆炸大火。再加上近年來台灣社會對於空氣汙染的關注普遍提升，六輕所引發的環保、健康與工安爭議開始受到許多公民團體與新聞媒體的關注，成為全國性的熱門議題。 (read more...)

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Community-Based Research is Hard, and Worth It

Maya Cowan August 12, 2021

I began studying the Salt Spring dollar (SSD), a community currency used on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada, for my May-August MA fieldwork period. I had heard about the currency from one of my committee members, and from some former Salt Spring residents I knew. One of the main research questions I outlined was “What the future of the currency might look like?” From the outside, there was a lot of optimism about a currency like this. Many tourists were interested in it, and many residents were proud of it. From the beginning, I knew I would have to take a community-based approach, which meant starting by contacting and meeting with board members of the Salt Spring Island Monetary Foundation, the currency’s issuer. It also meant volunteering with this community organization to exchange the currency at the Saturday market the community holds, which has many artisan goods stands, as well as food producers and prepared food. (read more...)

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A Very Lengthy Swedish Introduction: Hype, Storytelling, and the Question of Entrepreneurial Allies

Angela VandenBroek August 3, 2021
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At a Stockholm-based entrepreneur meetup, two entrepreneurs stood on stage ready to pitch their startup to a panel of venture capital investors (VCs).  The man clicked the laptop button to display their first slide—a large image of their logo. “Hello! I am Per and this is Jonna and this is our startup, Forests! We are on a mission to understand the world’s forests and their inhabitants.” Jonna moved to the second slide and told the story of an endangered forest-dwelling animal. On the next slide, Per talked more specifically about the importance of the world’s forests to global climate change. On the fourth slide, the endangered animal appeared again. “Oh, this guy again!” the event’s moderator interrupted with an exaggerated tone of exhaustion. The entrepreneurs laughed nervously and continued to talk about the grand mission of their company to support climate research with crowdsourced data from birders, amateur naturalists, and other forest enthusiasts. The moderator interrupted again: “Let’s pause there because I think we are about to get to the good stuff. But, that was a very lengthy Swedish introduction!” (read more...)

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Reflections on the 2021 AusSTS ‘Situated Practices’ Workshop

Tyler King July 27, 2021

The 2021 AusSTS interdisciplinary workshop, hosted by the Deakin University Science & Society Network, was a two-day multi-sited event, bringing together STS researchers from across Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. Based on the theme of ‘Situated Practice’, the workshop combined keynote talks, thematic presentations by postgraduate and early career researchers, and field trips. (read more...)

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Harnessing Indeterminacy: The Technopolitics of Hydrocarbon Prospects

Zeynep Oguz July 20, 2021

Amidst an international crisis sparked by the scandalous confessions of a mafia boss and a pollution and climate change-triggered marine disaster at the Marmara Sea in May and June 2021, Turkey’s Minister of Energy made consecutive announcements of oil and gas discovery (among other valuable minerals such as gold) in Turkey’s offshore waters and onshore lands. Mainstream and state-owned media reported these discoveries as steps in Turkey’s economic wealth and resource independence to come. Critics, however, seemed to think that the announcements were just a ploy to detract attention from Turkey’s real political and economic problems. Following the reactions on social media from Chicago, I was struck by how many people seemed to think that these “discoveries” were actually fake. Many mocked the news about gas discovery in the Black Sea by sarcastically asking if there was an election on the horizon or if a bitcoin mine discovery was next (read more...)

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Like, Share, Comment, and Follow: Labor and Capital on Instagram

Lakshita Malik July 14, 2021

Social media content creator Ishita Mangal (@ishitamangal) uploaded a post with multiple slides on her Instagram page. The first slide is entitled “an apology letter to my audience.” In the rest of the slides, she highlights a “barter collaboration” gone sour. The collaboration entailed the digital creator featuring four Indian kaftans (a type of clothing) brands on her Instagram page in exchange for keeping the outfits that she would feature. One of the brands was singled out, with their Instagram handle mentioned in the caption for viewers of the post to easily access. The brand was accused of harassing the digital creator; walking back on the terms of the agreement; asking for the garment in question back after “absorbing maximum benefits of all the posts on various platforms.” The digital creator proceeds to tell the tale of harassment and “extortion” she experienced at the hands of the luxury brand owner. (read more...)

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Naming the Virus, Becoming the Virus: Affective Forces of Threat from Hà Nội to Atlanta and the Possibility for Anti-Racist Solidarities

Tiên-Dung Hà July 6, 2021

“Chống dịch như chống giặc” (“Fight the pandemic like an invader”) has become Vietnam’s slogan in its battle against COVID-19. From the pandemic’s onset until April 2021, Vietnam performed exceptionally in halting the viral spread and preventing deaths from COVID-19. While COVID-19’s origin remains contested, Vietnam’s 1,306km border with China posed an acute risk during the first wave in early 2020. Defying odds, Vietnam kept the virus at bay. With a low case load and death count between Jan 2020 – June 2020, Vietnam stood out from its northern neighbor, China, as well as other European countries and the United States. Simply crediting Vietnam’s success to an authoritarian regime misses a deeper distrust of the Chinese government within Vietnam. This distrust stems from the historical colonization of China over Vietnam and imminent military and sovereignty threats posed in the East Sea (or the South China Sea) over the Spratly and Paracel Islands. (read more...)

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