Posted: April 12th, 2015

Waste stream/”The Body Ecosystem Continuum’

Waste stream/”The Body Ecosystem Continuum’

1.What the 7 year selfis (e.g. how frequently the body replenishes itself, excretes itself; and subsequently what are the implications ofthis for our conception of ourselves as static stable beings)

2.Why we chose bodily waste (just recounting our thought train from interest in the body as a fiIter/ part of an ecosystem, then to death and funerary practice, then to bodily waste as important). And theoretical point about how if we make our our functionality as waste obvious, we can become more cognitive of our other wastefulness.

Based on the group project( waste stream/topic: The Body Ecosystem Continuum), please write a researchreport/essay

This assessment item is designed to build on the research you have undertaken towards your group project. Working

individually, you will now conduct further research into the waste stream/topic you have been working on (as well as other relevant literatures) to write a final report or essay. In this piece of written work you are expected to go beyond a simple description of waste, to
critically explore how a particular kind of waste is understood/valued and how it impacts on people and the wider environment.

Waste

Futures: A hopeful waste portrait (in three parts)

In addition to a standard introduction, your waste portrait should have three main

parts.

1.) Briefly outline your chosen waste stream, its lifecycle and any ofthe major issues that it poses. This should be a very short section ofthe piece

2.) Then, focus in on one particular question that your waste stream prompts you to take seriously. This might be a question ofjustice (who is impacted on by this waste – human or nonhuman – is this equitable?); generation (why is there so much ofthis waste -what are the underlying patterns of production, consumption, regulation, that have created this waste probIem?); valuation (how is this waste valued (or not) by people, and why? – are different sectors ofthe population working to value it differently, to make something else out of it?). If none ofthese questions jump out at you then please propose your own to me via
email.

3.) The final part ofthe essay/report should be an effort to summon up a more hopeful future. What might be done about this waste stream to make things better? (Perhaps this is something that is already going on, or has already been proposed.) This final section should not just be a fanciful wish list, but a grounded (and critical) reflection on how a real difference might be made in this area. It might only be a tiny difference – not aiming to solve the whole problem – but however big or small it is, it should be a practical and realistic suggestion and it should be critically evaluated.

You should be aiming to critically evaluate your waste stream and how it is understood, valued, and related to by various groups.
This will necessarily involve substantial independent research, and not just research on your particular waste stream. In addition, you
should seek out articles that help you to think differently about these issues, articles that provide insights that you can then apply to
thinking about your waste stream (perhaps they will be articles on justice, or on consumerism, or on the way that items might be differently
valued and repurposed at different stages in their lives). The readings in this course will provide a starting point, but you should go well beyond these in your research.