Troubling Dualisms with the God in the Aquarium
God, pet, and research subject, axolotls transgress Western dualisms. Alex Ventimilla explores what these creatures tell us about science, companionship, and life in the Anthropocene.
Tagged: Science and Technology Studies
Why Are Anti-Vaxxers Obsessed With the “Natural”?
In this written correspondence, emery jenson talks to Dr. Traci Brynne Voyles about how ableist and racist thinking along with a narrow conception of “environmentalism” have propped up the anti-vaccination movement.
When Sacred Cows Become Tools of the State
In the midst of India’s beef ban, beef detection kits are supposed to help stop violence against Muslim and Dalit people accused of eating the meat. But do they? Clara Miller and A. Parikh argue that increased surveillance hurts both people and cows.
Listening to What Trees Have to Say
Trees might have a lot to say, but how can humans hear them? Solvejg Nitzke reviews Valerie Trouet’s new book, “Tree Story: The History of the World Written in Rings.”
Making Meaning in an Age of Data: A Conversation with Heather Houser
In conversation with Min Hyoung Song, Heather Houser considers how stories and art make overwhelming scientific data meaningful—and how they trouble, interrogate, and transform it.
What Happens When Gamers Become (Digital) Geoengineers?
Elon Musk’s dream of colonizing Mars may be decades away, but video games allow us to practice geoengineering here and now. Doron Darnov explores how digital terraforming both shapes and reflects our desires for worldmaking at (inter)planetary scales.
Infrastructure’s Inequalities: A Conversation with Nikhil Anand and Nausheen Anwar
Geographer Siddharth Menon interviews anthropologist Nikhil Anand and urban planner Nausheen Anwar about infrastructures and development in India and Pakistan.
Faculty Favorites: Must-Read Books in Environmental Science and Technology Studies
Faculty working in the US, UK, Canada, and Europe recommend new and classic readings in environmental science and technology studies (STS).
Reflections on the Plantationocene: A Conversation with Donna Haraway and Anna Tsing
Plantations discipline both plants and people. Two scholars reckon with the Plantationocene to develop a shared vision of multispecies justice.
Recommended Readings for a Radical Life
Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Cleo Woelfle-Erskine, and other activists and educators recommend books that challenge the divisions of life drawn by settler colonialism, racial slavery, and the natural sciences.
