In many global manufacturing settings, especially those involving low-wage labor, managers often frame their relationships with workers using familial metaphors. Our most recent reading talked about how these managers called themselves the “father” of the factory and referring to female workers as “daughters”. On the surface, this may just seem like an attempt to establish […]
Paternalism Behind corporate control Read More »
After our readings this week, I have come to realize that the social construction of disposability is a subtle yet strong force that shapes our perspectives on value and worth. In particular, it works by creating a hierarchy of things, where certain objects, and, as we discussed in class, certain people, are considered expendable or
Personal Reflection on Disposability Read More »
Questions for this week: What is disposability, and how did the concept emerge? What makes an object disposable? In what ways do our political and economic systems treat people as waste? How can we better study political and economic power from the perspective of the waste of the political economy? Readings:
I thought a lot about the quote included in Pollution is Colonialism from activist-geographer Laura Pulido stating that “Land is thoroughly saturated with racism. There are at least two primary land processes to consider: appropriation and access”. The more I reflected on this, the more it rang true, and the more historical examples came to
As we read in many of our readings last week we explored a new perspective of waste– as in items without typical value to us rather than just trash. One primary category we considered was wasteland, and how unused land or unoccupied land has been seen as waste in the past, or as wasteland. During
Wasteland isn’t so wasteful Read More »
In this week’s waste tracking image, I took a picture from my family’s house again. The main things I see are playa bowl containers and small paper and cardboard items. My household consists of five women, and I feel that we use a lot of paper towels when being in the kitchen. I think many
A recurring theme in our readings this week was the idea that waste serves as a reflection of modern society. Scanlan uses garbage as a metaphor for modernity, which I find interesting because modernization and the rise of capitalism inevitably produce waste as a byproduct. It’s interesting to consider what society deems productive or unproductive.
Nothing Is Ever Truly Gone Read More »
In our fast-paced world, waste is often treated as something that is easily discarded and forgotten. Everyone is always trying to move onto the new thing. This reflects a linear notion of time, where goods are consumed, used, and then disposed of once they’re no longer seen as useful. In this perspective, waste is the
Rethinking Waste beyond linear time Read More »
As I reflect on colonialism, pollution, and productivity, I am struck by how interconnected these forces are and how their impacts still determine the world we live in today. First, colonialism was as much a quest to conquer land as to extract resources and exploit labor to fuel systems of production (that privileged profit over
Colonialism, pollution, productivity. Read More »
Many times, while I attempt to conceptualize waste, I limit my understanding to throwing away the parts no longer useful to me anymore, whether it’s a food item that’s expired or the useless packaging it’s come in. However, I’ve come to continually realize that waste should be evaluated from more than one angle, as sometimes
Attempting to Conceptuialize ‘pre-emptive’ & ‘Reactive’ waste Read More »