Viral Knowledge, Vital Methods

Beginning from a material and metaphorical construction of the viral, we consider the circulation of pandemics and of knowledge as multi-scalar events of world-making (and breaking). This seminar applies the slow(er) methods of ethnographic research as vital to an apprehension of complex ecologies. This course engages with how social theory “gets done” by means of collaborative research strategies to appreciate social processes as they are at once locally experienced, historically contingent, and globally shared. Drawing from reflexive methodologies including the extended case method, students will learn to apply and refine theory, write analytically, and communicate their findings for inter-disciplinary audiences. Upper level seminar; 4 points