PCF Talk #58 – Agenda Monthly Meeting – Hybrid
This is a hybrid event, please join in person, or via the zoom link below!
Theme: Everyday Infrastructures (PCF Thematic Research Group)
14:00 - 14:20
Introduction of the Day:
In Memory of our dear friend and colleague, Sabine Luning who is sadly no longer with us.
I Public Event
14:20- 15:20
Presenter: Alessandro Rippa
Title of Presentation: A World in Amber: Trade, Infrastructure Development, and the State at China's Borderlands
This talk introduces the first chapter of an ongoing book project on amber's global circulations across both commerce and science. It recounts how I first encountered amber, in the rubble of development at China's borderlands, in the trading enclave of Tengchong. The talk explores the remaining material traces of past trade routes, and how these legacies continue to shape both everyday spaces and current and future infrastructure projects. Through amber, I unearth a story of trans-national connections: one that is shaping how the Chinese state is perceived and performed at the China-Burma borderlands. I also introduce the figure of the burst, to bridge amber's political economy and its political geology.
15:20 - 15:30
Break
II PCF Community Engagement
15:30 - 16:30
Group Discussion on "Methodological Frictions"
Moderators: John Hanna (TU Delft, PCF) and Costanza Franceschini (Leiden University, PCF)
Led by John Hanna and Costanza Franceschini, we will partake in an interactive discussion as to what is an everyday infrastructure, and how can these best be researched?
Introducing Sea-Ing Africa: Tracing Legacies and Engaging Future Promises of 'Big' Infrastructure Projects in Port City Regions in Ghana and Morocco
With a focus on Ghana and Morocco, the project Sea-ing Africa investigates the prominent place of infrastructure in the thinking about development in Africa. Infrastructure projects such as ports, highways and railways are intertwined with geopolitics, economic systems, political interests and cultural values that affect citizens. What are the relationships between large-scale processes of project planning and the local circumstances in which infrastructures are put in place? What is the societal impact of infrastructure as physical structure, design intervention and future making project?
16:30 - 16:40
Break
III PCF lighthouse projects and new opportunities
16:40 - 17:00
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Join the Everyday Infrastructures Thematic Research Group!
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2025 RGS-IBG Annual International Conference: Geographies of Creativity
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Sea-Ing Africa Field School: 19-23 January 2026 in Takoradi, Ghana
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WaterValues Serious Game - Second Edition Available!
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LDE Minor: (Re)Imagining Port Cities - Call for enrollment
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Professional Workshops 2025 - Introducing Port City Futures Workshops
- Next month's Meeting: Hosted by Mixed Methods and Design Strategies Thematic Research Group.