Week 10 Session: Crit: Three Case Studies

Compare involution across three unrelated domains and test, carefully, whether they share one mechanism or only a resemblance

10 May 2027

Before the session

Read into one of: K-pop trainee systems, standardised-test admissions races, or housing markets as positional goods. Identify the mechanism you think makes it involution — not a summary of the domain, an argument.

In the session

Pairs compare their two domains mechanism against mechanism, in front of the room. The room’s job is to find exactly where the comparison strains.

Afterwards

The strongest comparison, and its strongest rebuttal, are written up as a shared reference for the final project.

The spec

What you bring to the session. Written so a reader can tell whether it has been met without asking you.

you compare at least two of K-pop trainee systems, standardised-test admissions, or housing markets against one named mechanism, applied consistently
you can say what would falsify "these are the same thing"

Teaching team

Aaron Jin — Convenor, Lecturer & Tutor; 卷王 (Involution King)