Human Extinction and the Pandemic Imaginary

ISBN-13: 9780367776886 / Angielski / Miękka / 2021 / 178 str.

Christos Lynteris

Opis

Nested in debates among anthropologists, philosophers, social theorists and STS scholars, this book argues that global fascination with the ‘next pandemic’ stems not so much from anticipation of biological extinction of human species, as from expectation of loss of mastery over human-animal relations, as ontological pivot of humanity.

Recenzje

"Lynteris’   book   shows   clear   connections   between   available   narratives   to   experience   biological   emergencies   and   the   measures   at   hand  to  handle  a  pandemic.  By  showing  the  wide  span  of  the  pandemic  imaginary,  and  the  way  it  is  adopted  and  used  by  many  different  actors  in  western  society,  the  book  opens  the  door  to  continue  exploring  the  significance  of  the apparently superfluous and its impact on our experienced reality. But ultimately, the book is at its most inspiring in its depiction of humanity’s struggle  to  reinvent  itself  in  relation  to  our  environment. This is a struggle that we witness not   only   during   pandemic   times,   but   also   more  generally,  as  we  face  the  environmental  challenges resulting from the Anthropocene and its  extractive  relation  to  earth  and  nonhuman  animals." --Jose A. Cañada, Postdoctoral Researcher Faculty of Social Sciences University of Helsinki

Spis treści

Introduction: the end of mastery

1.The end of the world as We Do Not Know It

2. Zoonotic transformations

3. Anthropogenesis reversed

4. The epidemiologist as culture hero

5. The post-pandemic condition

Conclusion: catastrophism beyond closure

Bibliography

O autorze

Christos Lynteris is Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews, UK. His books for Routledge include Plague and the City (2018) and The Anthropology of Epidemics (2019).