Trust, truth, and the blockchain
“Less Trust, More Truth” said the black nylon drawstring bag in the cardboard box. I had to have one. No other item of swag at this crypto-conference articulated…
Tag: Threads
Technologies of Trust put to the Test
Drawing on participant observation of COVID-19 tests and blood donation, this article demonstrates how micro-interactions between medical personnel and laypeople can constitute trust, grounding the he…
Seeing Is Not Believing
“We bet on mining,” peasant leaders (dirigentes) say of the decision to permit one of the world’s largest open-pit copper mining projects on lands occupied by Quechua-speaking communities…
Making medicines trustworthy: pharmaceutical technologies of trust and regulation
How do globalised health regimes create and shape landscapes of medical regulation and patient safety? This essay asks about the many ways in which patients, consumers, health advocates,…
“Is it really organic?”
Ethnographic moments spark curiosity and puzzlement, spur the search for new understanding, and are almost always seen to be some of the most generative parts of anthropological fieldwork.…
Trust the organic?!
According to the latest report released by Switzerland’s main organic certification agency (BioSuisse), the country currently holds the world’s largest numbers in organic consumption per resident. In …
Global health meets sugar capitalism
After a long drive, Sheila and I arrive at the gates of a sprawling fifty-one square mile Malawian sugar plantation that belongs to Africa’s largest sugar company. An…
Humanitarian Techniques of Trust
“Trust in humanitarian action” was the top item on the agenda of the 33rd international conference of the Red Cross movement which took place in Geneva in December…
Technologies of Trust: Introduction
This post is the introduction of our thematic thread on Trust, curated by Anna Weichselbraun (University of Vienna), Shaila Seshia Galvin (Geneva Graduate Institute) and Ramah McKay (University of Pen…
The vital afterlife of Chernobyl cemeteries
Every year, after Easter, hundreds of families from all over Ukraine gather in the Chernobyl Zone of Alienation. People converge toward the now-deserted area to perform rites called…
Mobile Humanitarians: an afterword
This webinar series set out to explore the relationship between mobility and humanitarianism, and our speakers opened up several new areas for thought and discussion. Over four episodes,…
Mobile Humanitarians: Mobilities after Displacement
In this webinar series, we explore the relationship between mobility and humanitarianism in the course of four episodes. We – this is Till Mostowlansky, an anthropologist at The…
Race, Security, and the Contradictions of Humanitarianism
In this webinar series, we explore the relationship between mobility and humanitarianism in the course of four episodes. We – this is Till Mostowlansky, an anthropologist at The…
Bend like a Willow Tree
‘Watch out, we’ll catch every one of you!’ Hamza’s shrill voice echoed in the stairwell, and through the opening, he saw a swarm of children scattering to hide…
Dear Yaye
November 2017 Dear Yaye, I am writing to you because a week ago, Babacar returned. Babacar Diop, I think I might have written to you about him,…
2084
PART I Two Years Ago It was a hot day in July, and clocks were striking eight. It had been fifteen years since the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs)…
‘Call to Arms: Silver and Lead’ Campaign Review
‘Call to Arms: Silver and Lead’ campaign review Posted December 10, 2034 by Julie Annie (staff writer at Génial Gaming) Answering the Call to Arms (yet again)…
Morumbi and Paraisópolis: A Four-Act Play
Dramatis Personae Heitor: a 13-year-old boy Mr. Gomes, his father: a waste handler, working at a garbage dump Ms. Gomes, his mother: a dry cleaner, working from home…
Academic Fictions: A ballad of Kochi
Come oh villagers, come to the port Carry your sickles and scythes, sticks and rocks Come to the port, our city has fallen!! Our little city by the…
Academic Fictions: 2022
Last year, the Allegra Lab began a thematic thread showcasing a selection of the wonderful “academic fictions” written by students as an assignment for the course on “Cities,…
Heritage Out of Control: Musealising (Hi)stories of Migration
Since the early 2000s, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the recruitment agreement between Austria and Turkey in 1964, there have been increasing initiatives in Vienna that involve municipal…
Heritage out of Control: Buddhist Material Excess in Depopulating Japan
Inherited Buddhist objects and their associated ritual care connect the dead with the living. Buddhist things are not only material. They contain spiritual and emotional power, even when…
Heritage out of Control: Jinns Matter
Contested mystical heritage in Pemba, Zanzibar On the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania, jinns play a key role in shaping human lives and the material…