Religion in the Folded City: Origami and the Boundaries of the Chronotope

Abstract In this article we rethink the chronotope approach by examining what happened to religious space-times in a Chinese urban development project that completely transformed had once been five relatively rural townships. What happens chronotopes when place is so transformed? We focus on multiple chronotopic dimensions experience of those villagers whose families long occupied land, but who now live separated from their old neighbors, without livelihoods, having lost temples, and surrounded new migrants are generally wealthier better educated. Building recent anthropological work chronotopes, coupled with insights taken Maurice Merleau-Ponty Gilles Deleuze, explores complex interrelationships workings through idea fold. This reconsiders boundaries between might look like—not necessarily straight lines difficult cross, more like infinite inflections curves as intersect interact each other. Rather than thinking structured wholes clear boundaries—much also tend think about “states,” “cultures,” or “ontologies”—folding allows us reconceptualize kinds interactions take one space-time touches another. examine particular three ways which folding elucidates how can work: they make distant near, separate inside outside, complicate boundary interdigitating.