Individual Assignment
Due Week 6

What you will do

Describe the territorial networks of an existing object that is “Made in China”, from the specific area of its production / assembly in China to the path of exports - and possibly recycling. You can go into as many details as you want. Your objective is to provide a comprehensive picture that includes a description of the object, where it was produced in China and how it circulated.

Goals

The goal is to reflect on the export of elements that are constitutive of Chinese urbanity to other locations in the world. You are free to choose any kind of “object” that you deem interesting. The most obvious is to pick some finished manufactured goods (like consumer electronics) but you can also choose an intermediate object (like a battery for a German eclectic car), pieces of infrastructure (like high-speed railway), intangible things (like video games or financial bonds) or even immaterial concepts (like political or architectural words).

How to find your object ?

Look around you, list Made in China items in your direct surroundings, browse Ali express, have a walk in Chinatown, talk to your Chinese friends, browse the suggested readings from the syllabus, search for specific topics in the course outline that interest you and look for an object that may best embody it. If you are still clueless, ask the teacher.

The Mapping: follow the thing

Mapping is a process. The result should be closer to a biography of an object (even though it may include maps).

Remember that the more complex the object is, the more advanced your mapping will have to be.

Some questions you may ask yourself :

• Why is it Made in China (and not elsewhere) ? Also why in this specific area of China ?
• How was it created ? By whom ? (materials and components involved but also specific geographic locations and people)
• Is the object a finished product (like a selfie-stick) or can it be an intermediate object (like a battery for a German eclectic car)?
• What is the process that led it out of China ? Which urban infrastructure supported its circulation ? (logistics, distribution networks, and global/local trade routes but also places for human encounters)
• What are the environmental, social, and economic impacts of these networks ?

Deliverable

A 1,500–2,000-word report with 3-5 visuals (e.g., pictures, maps, diagrams, or illustrations) detailing:

• A factual description of the object
• A word about your methodology and your work process
• The object’s production and circulation networks (the object "biography")
• Its relationships and impact on urban systems and policies in China.
• Broader implications for cities and interconnectivity in China and globally

NB: The results will be shared internally between the students. Possibly published online (tbd)

Evaluation Criteria:

The work will be graded by the teacher, with special attention to the following criteria:

• Depth of analysis.
• Clarity of explanation.
• Use of data and visualization.
• Reflection on implications for urban / industrial systems.

References

• Kopytoff, Igor. “The Cultural Biography of Things: Commoditization as Process.” In The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective, edited by Arjun Appadurai, 64–92. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511819582.004.
• Woodward, Sophie. Material Methods: Researching and Thinking with Things. SAGE Publications, 2019. https://methods.sagepub.com/book/mono/material-methods/toc
• Lepawsky, Josh, and Chris McNabb. “Mapping International Flows of Electronic Waste.” Canadian Geographer 54, no. 2 (2010): 177–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0064.2009.00279.x.
• Clément Renaud, “L'assemblage comme forme d'innovation”, Techniques & Culture, 67 | 2017, 100-115. https://journals.openedition.org/tc/8476