This week I continued to dive into different topic spaces. Reading articles on the New York Times, Vox, Vice, TIMES, and Quartz and listening to Radiolab and This American Life to get inspired by things going on in the world. All of those were great thought starters and examples of different ways of storytelling. I have identified two different spaces that I am excited about and see potential within!
Journal of the Plague Year
I stumbled upon an article called “A Few Concerns I Have About Historians Reading My Coronavirus Diary”. From the article I learn that there is a project called “Journal of the Plague Year”, which is an initiative led by historians at Arizona State University. The goal is to collect stories and anticipate what might be interesting to historians decades from now, and signal to them what is important to understand about life during the pandemic. Anyone can submit to the archive in the form of a journal entry, photograph, sketch, Snapchat, Instagram post, iMessage screenshot, or email. There are currently 4193 total items, and more uploaded every day.
This project was inspired by the novel A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe, published in March 1722. A fictional narrator recounts his experiences of the year 1665 when the bubonic plague struck the city of London (Great Plague of London). The Great Plague lasted from 1665 to 1666, which was the last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in London. It killed 100,000 people in 18 months, and was started by the Yersinia pestis bacterium typically transmitted through the bite of an infected rat flea. As I began reading, I quickly found comparisons to the current conversations around COVID-19. The narrator points out the lack of printed newspapers at the time to spread rumors, which we see in our media. He also mentions the second wave of the plague and how the weather is affecting the numbers. Finally, he mentions the strangeness of London and change in attitude which can be observed in the empty streets of New York City.
The current archive forming about what it is like to live through COVID-19 is an interesting perspective to have. In a sense, when I look through those entries I feel like I am removing myself from the current situation and looking at it as an event that has passed. Once I put myself in that head space, I am able to see the similarities between the Great Plague of London and our current situation.
Here are some initial thoughts about what this could be:
- Comparison between the Great Plague of London and the COVID-19 pandemic
- Mixing and matching excerpts, images, & data from the Great Plague of London and COVID-19 in attempt to blur the line between the two.
- Exploring how humanity has changed/evolved since the 1660s through the lens of pandemics.
The Future of Chinatowns
A speculative design imagining possible futures of chinatowns. Let’s define speculative design and chinatowns. Speculative design is the process of addressing big societal issues with design process and systems. It imagines what it is like to design without the current limitations of tech, culture and politics. It is important to note that it is not a prediction the future, rather an imagination of possible futures. A chinatown is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan, most often in an urban setting. They exist in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Middle East. But even the definition of a chinatown varies, some are fabricated themed malls or the red light district. Some are bound within a certain area, while others are more spread out and unrecognized as an official chinatown. Below is a map of a few of the chinatowns around the world.
The reasons each chinatown formed varies, but generally came about from the emigration to other parts of the world from China. Accelerated by the Treaty of Peking (1860), which opened the border for free movement. Thus, chinatowns became a transitional place into a new culture. For example, in Europe, trade brought many people over to port cities, and the Vietnam war caused people to resettle in France & Germany. In the US, the California gold rush and transcontinental railroad was an economic opportunity for many. In Latin America, most people were brought over as contract laborers (slaves). In general, trade, economic opportunity, war/tragic events, power shifts, contract labor, and illegal activities instigated emigration. The history behind chinatowns is so rich, and is something that is getting lost in some places as they grow, evolve, and rebrand.
A primary example of this is chinatown in Dubai, which is the largest one in the Middle East. The chairman of Emaar Properties Mohamed Alabbar said: “The UAE and China share strong bilateral trade and cultural relations, which are bolstered by the presence of over 200,000 Chinese citizens who live in the UAE and the hundreds of thousands of Chinese visitors that the nation welcomes annually.” They are currently working on the Dubai Creek Harbour which will feature some of China’s top brands in a massive mall.
That is Dubai’s take on a modern chinatown. Clearly a big difference from what we might be more familiar with in San Francisco or New York City. Where we see the paifang, which is a traditional architecture gate, with two guardian lions that protect the space from harmful spirits & people. The garden of friendship, like the heritage-listed one in Sydney, Australia, is a symbol of friendship between cultures and a space for cultural heritage. The traditional restaurants, bakeries, tea shops, grocery stores, and medicine shops that are family owned and passed on through generations. Spaces for cultural education and sharing with the greater community.
There are still so many questions and things to research, but here are some questions I am asking myself:
- What will chinatown look like in 50 years?
- What is the immigrant experience/story in 50 years? Told through the lens of chinatown
- What will change in society (politics, mindset, environment, etc) in the future?
- How can speculating the future of chinatowns open up discussions?
- Where are new chinatowns forming? Is there a new city emerging that will have a chinatown in the future?
- Old vs. new chinatowns?
- What are the similarities and differences between chinatowns around the world?
There is still so much to look into and explore. For now I am continuing to dive into these spaces to see what else I can uncover. In the mean time I am reading sci-fi novels, which are speculative designs themselves! Till next week!
