Peer reviewed articles and book chapters by Loretta Lou
Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology, 2023
This paper provides the first ethnographic study of spiritual ecology in contemporary Hong Kong. ... more This paper provides the first ethnographic study of spiritual ecology in contemporary Hong Kong. In exploring the life stories of people who wanted to "heal" nature as well as those who were being "healed" by nature through the practice of green living, this paper illuminates the interconnection between self-transformation and social transformation within the green living circle. While the first form of self-transformation occurs when individuals consciously responded to green groups' appeals to cultivating themselves for the environment, the second mode of self-transformation happens unintendedly as people developed an interest in green living. In conclusion, I argue that the spiritual-ecological practices under the umbrella of green living offered people in Hong Kong a means to introspect, reorganize , and even transform their lives during difficult life events and challenging life transition. In turn, the emotional and spiritual experience of self-transformation not only reinforced people's faith in the power of nature, such positive experience was also key to perpetuating their interest and efforts in greening Hong Kong and the world beyond.
Toxic Heritage: Legacies, Futures, and Environmental Injustice , 2023
This chapter explores how residents in a Chinese neighbourhood bargained with their ‘toxic herita... more This chapter explores how residents in a Chinese neighbourhood bargained with their ‘toxic heritage’. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between the spring and autumn of 2018, the chapter details how the villagers of Samtilwei, a periurban neighbourhood adjacent to a polluting petrochemical plant in southern China, tried to maximize their financial gains through the double act of destroying and remaking their toxic heritage. In exploring how villagers tactically mobilised the idea of ‘preservation’ to retain their intangible connections to the villages while making justifications for demolishing their tangible estates, I unravel the implications of this peculiar phenomenon of ‘preservation by demolition’ for heritage studies.
American Ethnologist, 2022
In China many petrochemical plants are adjacent to residential areas. Despite this, the people wh... more In China many petrochemical plants are adjacent to residential areas. Despite this, the people who live in these areas appear indifferent to the threat of toxic pollution and chemical explosions, even though they are aware of the danger. Building on historical and social studies of ignorance, I show how residents in a southern Chinese city live with the threat of petrochemicals by practicing what I call the "art of unnoticing," a contrived form of ignorance that enables them to live with the reality of pollution and reclaim their agency in face of the unavoidable. In light of this, I reflect on the limit and complexity of the global environmental justice when willful ignorance is at work. The next step forward is to understand what it is that people are unnoticing, as well as what unnoticing can do to people's lifeworlds.
Design and Modernity in Asia, 2022
Hong Kong's modernity is a unique concoction of colonial legacy, Cold War geopolitics (Chun 2013;... more Hong Kong's modernity is a unique concoction of colonial legacy, Cold War geopolitics (Chun 2013; Law 2018) 1 and a 'structure of feeling' 2 (William 2015[1979]) generated by certain cosmopolitan values. The transition from a Crown Colony of the British Empire (1841-1997) to a Special Administrative Region of China (1997-present) not only made certain lifestyles and urban sensibilities possible, it also made Hong Kong the only Chinese city whose legacy of modernism continued to thrive after the establishment of the People's Republic of China. 3 While modern living in Hong Kong often conjures up images of glossy skyscrapers, shiny shopping malls, dense housing estates, cinemas, Cantonpop and a vibrant celebrity culture, such 'fixed' perceptions fail to capture modernity as 'a system of desires' (Pang 2007: 211). As Laikwan Pang argues, there is not a single universal pathway to modernity. The tremendous force of modernity in the so-called non-Western communities indicates that modernity is 'made to function in different spaces and times' (Pang 2007). As a system of desire, the force of modernity is less driven by a mission than by a social condition that continues to make promises, 'be they in the names of pleasure, comfort, enlightenment, [or] democracy' (Pang 2007: 212). In this chapter, I examine two under explored modes of modern living in Hong Kong through the history of urban sanitation (hygienic modernity/the desire to be hygienic) and the history of environmental governance (green modernity/the desire to be green). In particular, I am interested in how the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign in the 1970s disciplined its citizens and forged a sense of belonging and civic responsibility while introducing the Hong Kong people to a rudimentary understanding of 'protecting the environment' (waanbao), which started in the late 1980s and began to take root by the late 1990s. The historical sources used in this chapter, namely the archival documents and the campaign posters, were consulted from a number of places: The Hong Kong Government Records Service's online collection and the collection held at The Hong Kong Public Records Building; The Hong Kong History and Society Website curated by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and The Internet Archive. More recent materials were drawn
Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, 2021
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This paper argues that ... more https://drive.google.com/file/d/17fsFtudKW990i-ZSgxR1YKYzLkbAQ47U/view
This paper argues that the Macau government’s swift and effective coronavirus policies are deeply intertwined with the urban fabric and political economy of the city’s casino capitalism, which endowed the government with surplus funds and an infrastructure that enabled the implementation of an array of strict measures that few other countries could afford to subsidise. Factors that have led to Macau’s extraordinarily low rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths include: competent leadership and the public’s high compliance with mandatory health measures; the generous benefits and financial support for citizens and businesses; and the compulsory quarantine required of all incoming travellers, who are lodged in hotel rooms left empty when casino tourists stopped coming. All of these measures have been made possible by a political economy backed by the peculiarities of casino capitalism and its resultant tax revenues. Although previous studies tend to emphasise the negative impacts of casino capitalism, this paper shows how tax revenues and infrastructure from the gambling industry can make a contribution to the host society in times of crisis. Future research could compare the case of Macau with other small but affluent economies (ideally economies that do not depend on the gambling industry) to ascertain the role of casino capitalism in building up economic resilience.
Asian Anthropology, 2019
Although the idea of freedom has been well studied as an ideal in political philosophy, relativel... more Although the idea of freedom has been well studied as an ideal in political philosophy, relatively little scholarship has focused on the human experience of freedom. Drawing on ethnographic research between 2012 and 2013, I examine how freedom was achieved by people who practice freeganism and freecycling in Hong Kong. I show that the freedom that these people pursue, either individually or collectively, is not a freedom without constraints but a freedom that must be attained through the exercise of deliberation, restraint, and self-discipline. While freegans seek liberation by withdrawing from the world and practicing self-cultivation (chushi asceticism), freecyclers do so by engaging with worldly affairs in order to create social changes (rushi asceticism). In both cases, by reimagining freedom as ethical practices rather than a right that comes naturally with birth, freegans and freecyclers in Hong Kong are able to experience moments of freedom despite inevitable structural constraints.
Worldwide Waste: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2019
As Hong Kong’s landfills are expected to reach saturated conditions by 2020, the city can no long... more As Hong Kong’s landfills are expected to reach saturated conditions by 2020, the city can no longer rely on landfilling alone as the sole solution for waste treatment in the long term. Drawing on five months of archival research at the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Public Records Office (PRO) in 2016 as well as 17 months of fieldwork conducted between 2012, 2013 and 2016, this article provides a much-needed overview of why sustainable waste management has always been such a challenge for Hong Kong. Focusing on the city’s dependence on landfills and its failure to integrate alternative waste management technologies, namely incineration, into its current waste management regime, we explicate Hong Kong’s waste management predicaments from the 1950s to the present day. Through a historical lens, we argue that Hong Kong’s waste problems have a historical root and that they are unlikely to be resolved unless the government is willing to learn from its past mistakes and adopt a much more proactive approach in the near future.
Anthropology Now, 2017
As sustainability becomes a household buzzword, studies on green living and ethical consumption a... more As sustainability becomes a household buzzword, studies on green living and ethical consumption are also on the rise. While some researchers are doubtful of the usefulness of such “eco-chic” practices, others are optimistic about its radical potential. In any case, what has been largely overlooked in many of these studies is the materiality of household sustainability. My research on the practice of green living among the “green people” in Hong Kong, as I refer to them hereafter, suggests that it is insufficient to study the movement as an emerging form of consumer culture only. As I will show in this article, it would be more fruitful to consider the “green things” we find in the field not only as commodities, but also as “vibrant matters” whose networks and vitality have the capacity to transform people’s self-understanding, alter their relationships with others, and provoke political discussions.
Gilded Age: Made in China Yearbook 2017, 2018
Given the social and political significance of ‘the peasant’ (nongmin) in modern Chinese history,... more Given the social and political significance of ‘the peasant’ (nongmin) in modern Chinese history, it is surprising that the term (nongmin) is largely absent in Hong Kong, where discourses about individual farmers (nongfu) are far more prevalent. In tracing the modern etymology of Chinese peasants and the history of Hong Kong agriculture, this essay argues that the lack of ‘class’ consciousness makes Hong Kong farmers even more vulnerable to the unceasing wave of urban sprawl.
Other writing by Loretta Lou
China Dialogue, 2014
From “mad man” to pioneer of sustainable living, Simon Chau’s journey reflects the city’s growing... more From “mad man” to pioneer of sustainable living, Simon Chau’s journey reflects the city’s growing green consciousness
Somatosphere: Science, Medicine, Anthropology, 2016
Book reviews by Loretta Lou
Made in China Journal, 2019
The China Quarterly , 2018
LSE Review of Books, 2017
The China Journal, 2014
of the bias builds upon a rich body of literature on cadre management and the fiscal system, and ... more of the bias builds upon a rich body of literature on cadre management and the fiscal system, and will be good reading for graduate and advanced students. All in all, the book is a welcome contribution to the literature of rural credits, and testifies to how much work is still needed on this important subject.
Allegra: Anthropology, Law, Art & World, 2015
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Peer reviewed articles and book chapters by Loretta Lou
This paper argues that the Macau government’s swift and effective coronavirus policies are deeply intertwined with the urban fabric and political economy of the city’s casino capitalism, which endowed the government with surplus funds and an infrastructure that enabled the implementation of an array of strict measures that few other countries could afford to subsidise. Factors that have led to Macau’s extraordinarily low rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths include: competent leadership and the public’s high compliance with mandatory health measures; the generous benefits and financial support for citizens and businesses; and the compulsory quarantine required of all incoming travellers, who are lodged in hotel rooms left empty when casino tourists stopped coming. All of these measures have been made possible by a political economy backed by the peculiarities of casino capitalism and its resultant tax revenues. Although previous studies tend to emphasise the negative impacts of casino capitalism, this paper shows how tax revenues and infrastructure from the gambling industry can make a contribution to the host society in times of crisis. Future research could compare the case of Macau with other small but affluent economies (ideally economies that do not depend on the gambling industry) to ascertain the role of casino capitalism in building up economic resilience.
Other writing by Loretta Lou
Book reviews by Loretta Lou
This paper argues that the Macau government’s swift and effective coronavirus policies are deeply intertwined with the urban fabric and political economy of the city’s casino capitalism, which endowed the government with surplus funds and an infrastructure that enabled the implementation of an array of strict measures that few other countries could afford to subsidise. Factors that have led to Macau’s extraordinarily low rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths include: competent leadership and the public’s high compliance with mandatory health measures; the generous benefits and financial support for citizens and businesses; and the compulsory quarantine required of all incoming travellers, who are lodged in hotel rooms left empty when casino tourists stopped coming. All of these measures have been made possible by a political economy backed by the peculiarities of casino capitalism and its resultant tax revenues. Although previous studies tend to emphasise the negative impacts of casino capitalism, this paper shows how tax revenues and infrastructure from the gambling industry can make a contribution to the host society in times of crisis. Future research could compare the case of Macau with other small but affluent economies (ideally economies that do not depend on the gambling industry) to ascertain the role of casino capitalism in building up economic resilience.