Ecofascism and the politics of de/territorialization

Reading Anne Water Fearn’s memoir My Days of Strength (1939) as an empowering narrative regarding female professionalisation, this article explores the intersection of gender, race, and transcultural encounters in representing epidemic disease. Fearn (1867–1939), a Southern American physician in early twentieth-century China, strategically uses disease, particularly epidemics, as a significant agentic actor in conceiving a medical career which transgresses not just gender norms but also the imperialist ideology prevalent in western discourses regarding China. This article first teases out the historical backdrop in which Western medicine conveniently coupled with imperialism in American discourses on China, mapping epidemic disease onto popular imaginations of China and its people. It moves on to trace the ways in which Fearn turns to depictions of China’s epidemic disease and her daughter’s death to displace possible criticism of her professional choices. Furthermore, I demonstrate how gendered approaches to epidemics allow for curiosity in and respect for some local medical practices. As such, the memoir reveals a cross-cultural, cosmopolitan sensitivity regarding local medical traditions as much as a cultivated distance from western medicine’s perceived superiority and dominance that sustain imperialism.

The research presented in this chapter seeks to broaden our understanding and perception of the contemporary media landscape by examining the application of new digital communication technologies in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Mobile phones have recently become widespread in certain areas of PNG, a country renowned in the western popular imagination for its remoteness and ancient traditions. PNG also hosts a vibrant popular music culture, which is due in part to the increased global availability of digital recording technologies. This chapter explores how the contemporary consumption of popular music via mobile phones reflects local social and cultural practices relating to the Melanesian gift-economy, while demonstrating new adaptations and sharing practices among diverse urban youth.

Where Is Portland Made? The Complex Relationship between Social Media and Place in the Artisan Economy of Portland, Oregon (USA)