Abstract
Based on two case studies of Chinese infrastructural interventions in Mozambique and in Mongolia, this article introduces the notion of 'trans-temporal hinge' as a heuristic methodological concept that brings together phenomena and events otherwise distributed across time. The authors explore envelopes used when paying Mozambican workers at a construction site in Maputo and roads dividing Chinese oil workers and local nomads in southern and eastern Mongolia as concrete manifestations of trans-temporal hinges. In exploring the temporal properties of these phenomena, we define the trans-temporal hinge as a gathering point in which different temporalities are momentarily assembled. As an analytical scale derived from a specific ethnographic context, we argue that the trans-temporal hinge provides a novel and, quite literally, timely conceptual invention compared with other recent methods of anthropological knowledge production, such as multi-sited fieldwork.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Social Analysis: The International Journal of Anthropology |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 122-142 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| ISSN | 0155-977X |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Jun 2013 |
Keywords
- China
- Economy of distance
- Infrastructure
- Mongolia
- Mozambique
- Time
- Trans-temporal hinge