ABOUT THIS BOOK

One of the foremost intellectuals of his generation, French philosopher of science Michel Serres (1930–2019) broke free from disciplinary dogmas. His reflections on science, culture, technology, art, and religion have proved foundational to scholars across the humanities. The contributors to Porous Becomings bring the inspirational and enigmatic world of Serres to the attention of anthropology. Through ethnographic encounters as diverse as angels and religious conversion in Ethiopia, the percolation of war in Bosnia, and incarcerated bodies crossing the Atlantic, the contributors showcase how Serres’s interrogation of the fundamentals of human existence opens new pathways for anthropological knowledge. Proposing the notion of "porosity" to characterize permeability across boundaries of time, space, literary genre, and academic discipline, they draw on Serres to map the constellations that connect humans, time, technology, and planet Earth. The volume concludes with a conversation between the editors and Vibrant Matter author Jane Bennett.

Contributors. Andreas Bandak, Jane Bennett, Tom Boylston, Steven D. Brown, Matei Candea, Alberto Corsín Jiménez, David Henig, Michael Jackson, Daniel M. Knight, Celia Lowe, Morten Nielsen, Stavroula Pipyrou, Elizabeth Povinelli, Andrew Shryock, Arpad Szakolczai

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Andreas Bandak is Associate Professor in the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen and author of Exemplary Life: Modelling Sainthood in Christian Syria.

Daniel M. Knight is Reader in Social Anthropology at the University of St. Andrews and author of Vertiginous Life: An Anthropology of Time and the Unforeseen.

REVIEWS

“This book will send many readers in search of what Michel Serres’s work might illuminate in the present condition of the world. The authors unravel some of anthropology’s conceptual straightjackets, thereby suggesting the discipline’s potential for rethinking the Anthropocene. Serres, they hint, saves the baby of an adventurous humanism while draining away the politically dirtied bathwater of disciplinary intolerance.”

-- Michael Herzfeld, Harvard University

“Porous Becomings teems with immersive connectivity, opening new registers of sensemaking, flourishing, potentiality, and flux. This urgent and extraordinary collection traverses strata of existence that far exceed the human, yet slows the trip to inspire vital anthropological imaginations for our troubled times.”

-- Adriana Petryna, author of Horizon Work: At the Edges of Knowledge in an Age of Runaway Climate Change

"In Porous Becomings, a stellar roster of anthropologists takes up the thought of philosopher Michel Serres. . . . this well-timed contribution from anthropology is clearly a labor of love. . . . It invites us to dive in and explore connections across its lively chapters, following the whorls and eddies of Serres’s thought becoming anthropological. The portal is open."
-- Michael Degani American Anthropologist

"Porous Becomings stands as an extraordinary example of generous scholarship. . . . Each essay, in its artful exploration of Serres’ ideas, extends an invitation to further dialogue, deeper engagement and a richer understanding of the world."
-- Fiona Murphy Social Anthropology

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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