We usually do not subject the things we use on a regular basis to extensive analysis, such as the cutlery we eat with, the paper we write on, the toothpaste we brush our teeth with and so on. However, all of these objects contain entangled histories, connections and dimensions. To unpack, or implode, an object, means to untangle all the different stories that are inherent in its materiality. When we do so, it can teach us surprising things about the world and show us connections we were unaware of before. It can teach us "about the embeddedness of objects, facts, actions, and people in the world and the world in them" (Dumit, 2010, p. 350).

For this exercise, you will implode an everyday object and follow the connections that arise as far as you can, in order to surface the "economic, technical, political, organic, historical, mythis, and textual" (Haraway, 1997) dimensions inherent to it. To do so, please follow the following steps, and add your mappings to the Miro board before class on Monday.

1. Listen to the multispecies worldbuilding lab's podcast featuring Heather Davis on plastic (check the main ecologies page, or click

2. Pick an 'object' - a specific object. This can be the t-shirt you are wearing (so not just a general t-shirt, but the specific one you have on), your phone, the banana you happen to be eating, an instagram post you just liked, a graph from an article that you are reading on The Guardian app, your cat, and so on and so on.

3. Go to the Miro board of this exercise (you should have received an invite for the board via email - if not, let Tamara know).

4. Then note down all the aspects you can think of that are relevant for this particular object in the Miro board. A convenient way to do this is by making a mind map. Below are some questions that can help. You can answer these both by using your existing knowledge and doing some additional research. See how far you can get in exploring the relations and complexity of the object.

- How was it produced and who is involved in its production?
- Where has it traveled to and from?
- What are the histories of its productions?
- What kind of professionals are involved in making expert decisions regarding its development, production, and dissemination?
- What kind of knowledges count in talking about it?
- What materials are involved in its production and maintenance?
- Where have these materials come from?
- What are the labor dimensions of these material productions?
- What kinds of technologies and machines enable it to be produced and maintained?
- Who has access to these machines and technologies?
- What activities or ways of life enable one to come across it?
- What kinds of audiences is it addressed to?
- What kinds of local, national, and international bodies claim jurisdiction over it?
And so on...

You can find many more questions (pp. 351-352) and an elaborate description of the process in the article 'Writing the Implosion: Teaching the World One thing at a Time' by Joseph Dumit (to be found in the Dropbox folder). Dumit also describes the theoretical underpinnings of the approach (pp. 345-350).

IMPLODING THE OBJECT