Overview
Kin Wing (Ray) Chan is a human geographer who is interested in the areas of agri-food governance, animal health and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the United Kingdom and China. He is currently working on a four years research project: Diagnostic Innovation and Livestock (DIAL) with Henry Buller and Steve Hinchliffe that examines how diagnostic innovations reduce the utilisation of antibiotics in livestock farming in the United Kingdom.
After receiving his Ph.D. in Human Geography from Cardiff University in 2015, Ray worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Cardiff University in the European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 project with Gareth Enticott on vaccination practices in Europe and China. His previous and current research on animal health management demonstrates his passion and commitment to equipping farmers and veterinary practices with the knowledge of more benign diagnostic practices to support the smarter use of antibiotics in the United Kingdom.
Qualifications
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Cardiff University (2016)
Ph.D Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, UK (2015)
MA Human Geography, University of Calgary, Canada (2011)
BA Hons (1st Class Honours) Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong (2007)
Links
Research group links
Research
Research interests
Being a human geographer, my research work is founded on and motivated by a desire to better understand the relationships between farm animal production, the regulation of food, and farmers’ and veterinarians’ behaviour in both western and non-western contexts.
I was keen to understand how government policies affect the production and consumption patterns of meat, and also how they affect farmers’ practices in Hong Kong. My publications in Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, and Routledge series’ Political Ecologies of Meat show my eagerness to write about how different governing tools have the potential to transform farmers’ behaviours and affect human-animal relationships.
During my PhD, I produced a novel framework which goes beyond the traditional conceptualisation of the Chinese state, and which emphasises top-down policy delivery and state-led transformation. My dissertation has contributed to the understanding of the dynamic role played by county government and the territorial strategies it can implement to manage forest and land resources. Two of my articles, published in The China Quarterly and Journal of Rural Studies, have also contributed to the understanding of the dynamic role and territorial strategies of county government in overseeing agri-food supply chains and food production standards.
In moving from human geography to animal geography, I draw further insight from science and technology studies (STS) links with veterinary knowledge in order to conceptialise vaccination practices of farmers and veterinarians and their use of antibiotics in farm animals in both the United Kingdom and China. My current postdoctoral research allows me: (1) to explore the perceptions of British and Chinese meat producers in order to delineate what considers to be a “good farmer” in relation to animal health management (published in Journal of Rural Studies); (2) to theorise British farmers’ and veterinarians’ diagnostic tools and practices on farms in relation to the use of antibiotics.
Links
Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Key publications
Chan KW (2020). Politics of Smell:. Constructing Animal Waste Governmentality and Good Farming Subjectivities in Colonial Hong Kong.
Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 1-25.
Full text.
Chan K, Enticott G (2019). The Suzhi farmer: Constructing and contesting farming Subjectivities in post-Socialist China.
Journal of Rural Studies,
67, 69-78.
Abstract:
The Suzhi farmer: Constructing and contesting farming Subjectivities in post-Socialist China
This paper analyses the use of the cultural convention of suzhi in attempts to improve biosecurity practices in the Chinese pig industry. Suzhi loosely refers to ‘quality’ and has been used to define the appropriate conduct of citizens during the era of market reforms. Like other forms of agricultural governmentality, suzhi provides a way of distinguishing ‘good farming’ and creating entrepreneurial subjectivities. However, in other policy areas, suzhi has been shown to marginalise the poor and reinforce social inequalities. This paper examines the extent to which discourses of suzhi in a biosecurity context contributes to the use of preventive animal health practices, amongst pig farmers in Chongming Island, Shanghai. Drawing on documentary evidence and interviews with 33 farm animal breeders and 3 pig veterinary surgeons, the paper examines how suzhi contributes to the creation of ‘good farming’ subjectivities in order to modernise the animal health practices of pig farmers. The paper shows how suzhi contributes to the valourisation and stigmatization of different pig farming subjectivities, suggesting that it reinforces existing socio-economic inequalities. Moreover, the paper describes the ways in which modes of conduct associated with suzhi are negotiated and challenged and reduced to a symbolic ‘cloak’ that disguises the reality of preventive animal health practices.
Abstract.
Full text.
Chan KWR, Flynn A (2018). Food Production Standards and the Chinese Local State: Exploring New Patterns of Environmental Governance in the Bamboo Shoot Industry in Lin’an.
The China Quarterly, 1–27-1–27.
Full text.
Flynn A, Chan KW, Zhu ZH, Yu L (2017). Sustainability, space and supply chains: the role of bamboo in Anji County, China.
Journal of Rural Studies,
49, 128-139.
Full text.
Wing Chan K, Miller B (2015). Capitalist pigs: Governmentality, subjectivities, and the regulation of pig farming in colonial Hong Kong, 1950–1970.
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space,
33(6), 1022-1042.
Full text.
Chan K (2015). Contesting urban agriculture: the politics of meat production in the License-Buy-Back Scheme (2006-2007) in Hong Kong. In Emel J, Neo H (Eds.)
Political Ecologies of Meat, New York: Routledge, 295-314.
Abstract:
Contesting urban agriculture: the politics of meat production in the License-Buy-Back Scheme (2006-2007) in Hong Kong
Abstract.
Full text.
Publications by category
Journal articles
Chan KW (2020). Politics of Smell:. Constructing Animal Waste Governmentality and Good Farming Subjectivities in Colonial Hong Kong.
Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 1-25.
Full text.
Chan K, Enticott G (2019). The Suzhi farmer: Constructing and contesting farming Subjectivities in post-Socialist China.
Journal of Rural Studies,
67, 69-78.
Abstract:
The Suzhi farmer: Constructing and contesting farming Subjectivities in post-Socialist China
This paper analyses the use of the cultural convention of suzhi in attempts to improve biosecurity practices in the Chinese pig industry. Suzhi loosely refers to ‘quality’ and has been used to define the appropriate conduct of citizens during the era of market reforms. Like other forms of agricultural governmentality, suzhi provides a way of distinguishing ‘good farming’ and creating entrepreneurial subjectivities. However, in other policy areas, suzhi has been shown to marginalise the poor and reinforce social inequalities. This paper examines the extent to which discourses of suzhi in a biosecurity context contributes to the use of preventive animal health practices, amongst pig farmers in Chongming Island, Shanghai. Drawing on documentary evidence and interviews with 33 farm animal breeders and 3 pig veterinary surgeons, the paper examines how suzhi contributes to the creation of ‘good farming’ subjectivities in order to modernise the animal health practices of pig farmers. The paper shows how suzhi contributes to the valourisation and stigmatization of different pig farming subjectivities, suggesting that it reinforces existing socio-economic inequalities. Moreover, the paper describes the ways in which modes of conduct associated with suzhi are negotiated and challenged and reduced to a symbolic ‘cloak’ that disguises the reality of preventive animal health practices.
Abstract.
Full text.
Chan KWR, Flynn A (2018). Food Production Standards and the Chinese Local State: Exploring New Patterns of Environmental Governance in the Bamboo Shoot Industry in Lin’an.
The China Quarterly, 1–27-1–27.
Full text.
Flynn A, Chan KW, Zhu ZH, Yu L (2017). Sustainability, space and supply chains: the role of bamboo in Anji County, China.
Journal of Rural Studies,
49, 128-139.
Full text.
Chan KW (2016). Rethinking the mechanism of the social impact assessment with the ‘right to the city’ concept: a case study of the Blue House Revitalization Project in Hong Kong (2006–2012).
International Planning Studies,
22(4), 305-319.
Full text.
Wing Chan K, Miller B (2015). Capitalist pigs: Governmentality, subjectivities, and the regulation of pig farming in colonial Hong Kong, 1950–1970.
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space,
33(6), 1022-1042.
Full text.
Chan KW (2014). China's Environmental Challenges. International Planning Studies, 19(3-4), 414-416.
Chan KW (2014). China's Rise to Power: Conceptions of State Governance. International Planning Studies, 19(3-4), 410-414.
Chapters
Smart A, Smart J, Chan KW (2020). China’s entangled borders: citizenship, infectious diseases, and invasive species. In Peckman R (Ed)
Species of Motion: Infectious Diseases and Surveillance Technologies in Southeast Asia, Palgrave Macmillan:.
Abstract:
China’s entangled borders: citizenship, infectious diseases, and invasive species
Abstract.
Full text.
Maye D, Chan KW (2020). National biosecurity regimes: plant and animal bio-politics in the UK and China. In Fall J, Francis R, Schlaepfer MA, Baker K (Eds.)
The Routledge Handbook of Biosecurity and Invasive Species, Abingdon: Routledge.
Abstract:
National biosecurity regimes: plant and animal bio-politics in the UK and China
Abstract.
Chan K (2015). Contesting urban agriculture: the politics of meat production in the License-Buy-Back Scheme (2006-2007) in Hong Kong. In Emel J, Neo H (Eds.)
Political Ecologies of Meat, New York: Routledge, 295-314.
Abstract:
Contesting urban agriculture: the politics of meat production in the License-Buy-Back Scheme (2006-2007) in Hong Kong
Abstract.
Full text.
Publications by year
2020
Smart A, Smart J, Chan KW (2020). China’s entangled borders: citizenship, infectious diseases, and invasive species. In Peckman R (Ed)
Species of Motion: Infectious Diseases and Surveillance Technologies in Southeast Asia, Palgrave Macmillan:.
Abstract:
China’s entangled borders: citizenship, infectious diseases, and invasive species
Abstract.
Full text.
Maye D, Chan KW (2020). National biosecurity regimes: plant and animal bio-politics in the UK and China. In Fall J, Francis R, Schlaepfer MA, Baker K (Eds.)
The Routledge Handbook of Biosecurity and Invasive Species, Abingdon: Routledge.
Abstract:
National biosecurity regimes: plant and animal bio-politics in the UK and China
Abstract.
Chan KW (2020). Politics of Smell:. Constructing Animal Waste Governmentality and Good Farming Subjectivities in Colonial Hong Kong.
Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 1-25.
Full text.
2019
Chan K, Enticott G (2019). The Suzhi farmer: Constructing and contesting farming Subjectivities in post-Socialist China.
Journal of Rural Studies,
67, 69-78.
Abstract:
The Suzhi farmer: Constructing and contesting farming Subjectivities in post-Socialist China
This paper analyses the use of the cultural convention of suzhi in attempts to improve biosecurity practices in the Chinese pig industry. Suzhi loosely refers to ‘quality’ and has been used to define the appropriate conduct of citizens during the era of market reforms. Like other forms of agricultural governmentality, suzhi provides a way of distinguishing ‘good farming’ and creating entrepreneurial subjectivities. However, in other policy areas, suzhi has been shown to marginalise the poor and reinforce social inequalities. This paper examines the extent to which discourses of suzhi in a biosecurity context contributes to the use of preventive animal health practices, amongst pig farmers in Chongming Island, Shanghai. Drawing on documentary evidence and interviews with 33 farm animal breeders and 3 pig veterinary surgeons, the paper examines how suzhi contributes to the creation of ‘good farming’ subjectivities in order to modernise the animal health practices of pig farmers. The paper shows how suzhi contributes to the valourisation and stigmatization of different pig farming subjectivities, suggesting that it reinforces existing socio-economic inequalities. Moreover, the paper describes the ways in which modes of conduct associated with suzhi are negotiated and challenged and reduced to a symbolic ‘cloak’ that disguises the reality of preventive animal health practices.
Abstract.
Full text.
2018
Chan KWR, Flynn A (2018). Food Production Standards and the Chinese Local State: Exploring New Patterns of Environmental Governance in the Bamboo Shoot Industry in Lin’an.
The China Quarterly, 1–27-1–27.
Full text.
2017
Flynn A, Chan KW, Zhu ZH, Yu L (2017). Sustainability, space and supply chains: the role of bamboo in Anji County, China.
Journal of Rural Studies,
49, 128-139.
Full text.
2016
Chan KW (2016). Rethinking the mechanism of the social impact assessment with the ‘right to the city’ concept: a case study of the Blue House Revitalization Project in Hong Kong (2006–2012).
International Planning Studies,
22(4), 305-319.
Full text.
2015
Wing Chan K, Miller B (2015). Capitalist pigs: Governmentality, subjectivities, and the regulation of pig farming in colonial Hong Kong, 1950–1970.
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space,
33(6), 1022-1042.
Full text.
Chan K (2015). Contesting urban agriculture: the politics of meat production in the License-Buy-Back Scheme (2006-2007) in Hong Kong. In Emel J, Neo H (Eds.)
Political Ecologies of Meat, New York: Routledge, 295-314.
Abstract:
Contesting urban agriculture: the politics of meat production in the License-Buy-Back Scheme (2006-2007) in Hong Kong
Abstract.
Full text.
2014
Chan KW (2014). China's Environmental Challenges. International Planning Studies, 19(3-4), 414-416.
Chan KW (2014). China's Rise to Power: Conceptions of State Governance. International Planning Studies, 19(3-4), 410-414.
Ray_Chan Details from cache as at 2020-04-05 16:21:39
Refresh publications
External Engagement and Impact
Awards/Honorary fellowships
Editorial responsibilities
I am a review editor for the Journal of Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
I have conducted peer review for academic journals including Environment and Planning D, China Quaterly, Journal of Rural Studies, Geoforum, The Pacific Review, Agriculture and Human Values and other social science journals.
Invited lectures
‘Filthy Pigs: Governmentality, Subjectivities, and the Regulation of Animal Waste Practices in Hong Kong (1973-1997)’, Department of Geography, National Taiwan University, 5th Jan 2018
‘Rethinking the mechanism of the Social Impact Assessment with the Right To the City concept: a case study of the Blue House Revitalization Project in Hong Kong (2006-2012)’, Graduate Institute of Urban Planning, National Taipei University, 4th Jan 2018
‘Capitalist Pigs: Governmentality, Subjectivities and the Regulation of Pig Farming’, Department of Urban Planning and Design, The University of Hong Kong, 3rd Feb 2016
Teaching
My initiative in course design and care in teaching have rewarded me with the teaching qualification of Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2016. I have experience as a teaching assistant in modules on both human geography and urban planning for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Current teaching experiences
I contributed to the following modules at the University of Exeter:
- GEOM131 Geographies of life (MSc)
- GEO3126 Geographies of Monsters: Sciences, Society and Environmental Risk
Previous teaching experiences
- I contributed to 5 modules in the School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University (2013-2017):
- CPO 146 - The Chinese Countryside
- CPO 310 - Contemporary Planning in China
- CPO 241 - Contemporary Geographical Ideas
- CPO 343 - Hong Kong Field Study Tour
- CPT 855 - Eco-Cities (MSc) - Governance of the Eco-City Development
I was involved in the Urban Social Geography course in the Geography Department at the University of Calgary (2009-2010)
