Sensory Infrastructures
New School for Social Research: Anthropology
CRN: 15719
Credits: 3
Close your eyes and tune in to the sensorium around us. This class invites us to explore the sounds, smells, tastes, touches (and more!) that constitute the many infrastructures that frame and guide our lives. From the design of public benches in parks, to the colonial economies of ice, the senses are powerful sites of influence and interaction. In this course, we will probe the thresholds between body, environment, and system.We draw inspiration from a spectrum of interdisciplinary methods and theories, such as: ethnography by reading work by scholars like Annemarie Mol, who delves into the social, political, and technoscientific aspects of disease; design with architects like Nerea Cavillo and colleagues who allow us to digitally encounter atmospheric spaces through grids and maps as a form of analysis, and biological inquiry with scientists like David G. Haskell who has written, podcasted, and co-produced compositions that immerse us in the experiences of nonhuman and human relations across a global milieu. Adjacent to this, we will use our own bodies as “theory machines,” as anthropologist Stefan Helmreich describes, to heighten and nuance our attunement to the realities of the present moment. Guest speakers, as well as site visits will be an integral part of our semester. Throughout, we will ask questions such as: What can a sensorial perspective open up for us in the rush of our everyday lives? Towards what kind of futures do sensory infrastructures allow and how might we engage with them? Class assignments will be cumulative towards a final project, which may take the form of a research-informed multimodal project or a research paper.
College: New School for Social Research (GF)
Department: Anthropology (ANT)
Campus: New York City (GV)
Course Format: Seminar (R)
Modality: In-Person
Max Enrollment: 18
Add/Drop Deadline: February 3, 2025 (Monday)
Online Withdrawal Deadline: April 15, 2025 (Tuesday)
Seats Available: No
Status: Waitlist*
* Status information is updated every few minutes. The status of this course may have changed since the last update. Open seats may have restrictions that will prevent some students from registering. Updated: 7:18pm EST 11/17/2024