Acknowledgments  vii

Note on Transliteration  xi

1. Problems of a Political Nature  1

Passions  19

2. Endangerment  23

Slow  51

3. Specific Life  53

Chess  73

4. Articulated Knowledges  76

Hair  106

5. Earthly Vocations  109

Hiking  137

6. Air's Substantiations  139

Notes  169

Bibliography  185

Index  199

Honorable Mention, 2012 Gregory Bateson Prize, presented by the Society for Cultural Anthropology

“[A]n exquisite anthropological account of how recent environmental campaigns in Hong Kong resonate with social and political dilemmas surrounding its return to Chinese sovereignty.Choy’s book provides a reviving
breath to the study of environmentalism and to our understanding of postcolonial Hong Kong.”—Julian M. Groves, Anthropological Quarterly

“While demanding, Choy’s ethnographic method also appears quite inviting. With it, he is able to move easily from theoretical questions regarding the construction of scientific truth and expertise to the shifting scales of mass media and local, even personal, anecdotes. Ultimately, his ethnographic approach with its attention to detail avoids being simply a means to an end; instead it stands in as a positive example of the negotiations and comparisons that we make as we live amidst the shifting terrain of contemporary culture.”—Benjamin K. Hodges, Journal of Anthropological Research

“Ecologies of Comparison is a stimulating ethnography…The book will be of interest to anthropologists, sociologists, science studies scholars, and Asian studies scholars alike.”—Peter C. Little, Electronic Green Journal

Honorable Mention, 2012 Gregory Bateson Prize, presented by the Society for Cultural Anthropology

“[A]n exquisite anthropological account of how recent environmental campaigns in Hong Kong resonate with social and political dilemmas surrounding its return to Chinese sovereignty.Choy’s book provides a reviving
breath to the study of environmentalism and to our understanding of postcolonial Hong Kong.”—Julian M. Groves, Anthropological Quarterly

“While demanding, Choy’s ethnographic method also appears quite inviting. With it, he is able to move easily from theoretical questions regarding the construction of scientific truth and expertise to the shifting scales of mass media and local, even personal, anecdotes. Ultimately, his ethnographic approach with its attention to detail avoids being simply a means to an end; instead it stands in as a positive example of the negotiations and comparisons that we make as we live amidst the shifting terrain of contemporary culture.”—Benjamin K. Hodges, Journal of Anthropological Research

“Ecologies of Comparison is a stimulating ethnography…The book will be of interest to anthropologists, sociologists, science studies scholars, and Asian studies scholars alike.”—Peter C. Little, Electronic Green Journal

“This beautifully written book urges us to take another look at some of our most important tools for thinking. What do comparisons do? Why do we use examples? When does it matter if components of our world are specific to their times and places? Ecologies of Comparison offers a stimulating tour into both Hong Kong’s environmental politics and the work of political analysis itself.”—Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, author of Friction: An Ethnography of Global Connection

“Tim Choy’s much-anticipated meditation on the many forms of life to be found in Hong Kong environmentalism is a bracing read. Taking knowledge itself as his object, Choy shows how the deep complicity of ethnography, theory, and politics offers not only profound challenges to scholarly practice but also new opportunities and horizons. Ecologies of Comparison is original, contemporary, and resonant. A true breath of fresh air.”—Hugh Raffles, author of Insectopedia and In Amazonia: A Natural History

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