Loretta Ieng Tak Lou
Biographic Data
| ID | 668873 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Loretta Ieng Tak Lou |
| GIVEN NAMES | Loretta Ieng Tak |
| FAMILY NAME | Lou |
| SIGNATURE | LOU L I T |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Macau |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5944-1447 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 6 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 19 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 6 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
When sociality fails to produce solidarity
This article examines the potentials and limitations of the concept of “chemosociality” (Shapiro and Kirksey, Cultural Anthropology 32:481–493, 2017) through a case study of Emerald, an environmental NGO addressing pollution in China’s chemical industry. Based on fieldwork and online research conducted since 2016, the article explores how chemosociality provides a lens to move beyond binary views of a homogeneous frontline community battling agai…
Healing Nature
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…
The art of unnoticing
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 o…
Freedom as ethical practices
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…
The Struggle for Sustainable Waste Management in Hong Kong
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…
The Material Culture of Green Living in Hong Kong
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” practi
The art of unnoticing
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 o…
The Material Culture of Green Living in Hong Kong
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” practi
The Struggle for Sustainable Waste Management in Hong Kong
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…
The Material Culture of Green Living in Hong Kong
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” practi
Freedom as ethical practices
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…
The Struggle for Sustainable Waste Management in Hong Kong
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…
The art of unnoticing
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 o…
Healing Nature
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…
When sociality fails to produce solidarity
This article examines the potentials and limitations of the concept of “chemosociality” (Shapiro and Kirksey, Cultural Anthropology 32:481–493, 2017) through a case study of Emerald, an environmental NGO addressing pollution in China’s chemical industry. Based on fieldwork and online research conducted since 2016, the article explores how chemosociality provides a lens to move beyond binary views of a homogeneous frontline community battling agai…
Environmental ethics (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Law (3 works) · Philosophy (3 works) · China (2 works) · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance (2 works) · Ecology (2 works) · Engineering (2 works) · Environmental planning (2 works)