Papers by Jonathan Wald
Pensées canadiennes, 2013
Showing Theory to Know Theory: Understanding social science concepts through illustrative vignettes, 2022
This paper attempts to think with orchids about the reality of moral values. Employing the growin... more This paper attempts to think with orchids about the reality of moral values. Employing the growing literature of biosemiotics, particularly the works of Eduardo Kohn and Terrence Deacon, I begin with the premise that all living beings represent the world around them. Through studying organisms in their form and ecologies, this foundation opens up the possibility of thinking with organisms, rather than simply about organisms. Human beings and evolutionary processes have cultivated orchids to satisfy the demands of particular values. Consequently, the very form of orchids bears testament to the material reality of the aesthetic, epistemological, and economic values that constitute their world. Drawing on recent anthropological fieldwork with horticulturalists in Brazil, the history of botany, and plant biology, I will compare and contrast the evolutionary trajectories of orchids, fostered by the aesthetic sensibilities of naturalists, and corn, a crop largely shaped by a history of biopolitics, in order to demonstrate that plants can actively contribute to the philosophical pursuit of moral knowledge.
Anthropology has historically struggled with the challenge of empirically investigating abstract ... more Anthropology has historically struggled with the challenge of empirically investigating abstract morality. Didier Fassin and Jarrett Zigon, in calling for a designated "moral anthropology" or "anthropology of moralities," (Zigon 2007) 1 argue that the Kantian influence on moral philosophy is responsible for this difficulty. By arguing that all moral philosophy must take place at the level of the a priori, prior to and independent from empirical or passionate inputs, (Kant 1993: ak. 420) Kant divorced the evaluation of morals from the study of practices. Fassin bluntly summarizes this conclusion as, "There is no such thing as a moral anthropology." (Fassin 2008:336) Following in this interpretation, Zigon sees the initial hurdle of moral anthropology as overcoming the Kantian legacy. However, Durkheim has preemptively made this task more difficult:: "In his critique of Kantian morality, Durkheim replaced the moral law, as both the foundation for and the origin of obligation for all moral acts, with society." (Zigon 2007:132) The anthropology of morality thus faced a second challenge:
Pensées canadiennes, 2013
In contemporary political discussions we often hear the term "multiculturalism," but the precise ... more In contemporary political discussions we often hear the term "multiculturalism," but the precise meaning of the term "culture" is far from evident. This paper will analyze cross-cultural toleration in light of recent developments within anthropology and sociology in order to better contextualize the discussion. The paper will begin with a brief description of how debates surrounding cultural relativism, despite their
Book Reviews by Jonathan Wald
Conference Presentations by Jonathan Wald
With the unfolding of global climate change, environmental analysts fully expect an increasing ra... more With the unfolding of global climate change, environmental analysts fully expect an increasing rate of “natural” disasters. In the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, persistent droughts punctuated by devastating floods have already wrecked local agricultural economies, pushed thousands of rural residents towards the cities, and devastated numerous ecosystems. For government environmental analysts struggling to set climate change on the state’s list of priorities, disaster management has been one of the most successful means of grabbing attention. In particular, the framework of Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction, or Eco-DRR, the use of “natural” ecological processes to prevent, mitigate, and repair damage, has allowed environmental agencies to make their concerns a priority.
Building on ethnographic fieldwork in Minas Gerais with state environmental analysts developing Eco-DRR projects, this presentation explores the conceptual and rhetorical deployment of Eco-DRR and the stakes of framing climate change disasters. How does posing climate change as a punctuated period of natural disasters that must be addressed through Eco-DRR rework thinking about ecological processes and the rhythm of environmental politics? While treating Eco-DRR as a hybrid of nature and culture could demonstrate that “natural” disasters are rarely, if ever, wholly “natural” and that Eco-DRR is yet another blurred boundary, this presentation will attempt to make Eco-DRR “visible as a singularity.” (Foucault 2000, 226). That is, how does Eco-DRR offer new glimpses into forms of government and nature emerging today?
Thesis Chapters by Jonathan Wald
Dissertation, 2022
Based on participatory fieldwork with government climate science advisors in the Southeastern Bra... more Based on participatory fieldwork with government climate science advisors in the Southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais in 2017 and 2018, my dissertation documents the unprecedented and monstrous challenges of addressing climate change amidst rising authoritarianism. I explain how environmental and political disasters, ranging from toxic floods to assassinations, destabilize traditional forms of science and politics. I examine how destabilization erodes boundaries between categories and explore its effects on open and clandestine conflicts taking place within state bureaucracies. I show how the horrors of the climate crisis spur ethical self-reflection among climate analysts, producing a new form of "transversal" ethical thinking. I then trace the creative strategies developed to address this destabilizing horror, such as “Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction” (Eco-DRR) and community-based environmental education. My research demonstrates the importance and potential of taking horror seriously and seeing its imaginative potential. My dissertation contributes to science and technology studies (STS), political anthropology, and environmental anthropology by interrogating the new problematizations of the state and science in the era of climate disasters.
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Papers by Jonathan Wald
Book Reviews by Jonathan Wald
Conference Presentations by Jonathan Wald
Building on ethnographic fieldwork in Minas Gerais with state environmental analysts developing Eco-DRR projects, this presentation explores the conceptual and rhetorical deployment of Eco-DRR and the stakes of framing climate change disasters. How does posing climate change as a punctuated period of natural disasters that must be addressed through Eco-DRR rework thinking about ecological processes and the rhythm of environmental politics? While treating Eco-DRR as a hybrid of nature and culture could demonstrate that “natural” disasters are rarely, if ever, wholly “natural” and that Eco-DRR is yet another blurred boundary, this presentation will attempt to make Eco-DRR “visible as a singularity.” (Foucault 2000, 226). That is, how does Eco-DRR offer new glimpses into forms of government and nature emerging today?
Thesis Chapters by Jonathan Wald
Building on ethnographic fieldwork in Minas Gerais with state environmental analysts developing Eco-DRR projects, this presentation explores the conceptual and rhetorical deployment of Eco-DRR and the stakes of framing climate change disasters. How does posing climate change as a punctuated period of natural disasters that must be addressed through Eco-DRR rework thinking about ecological processes and the rhythm of environmental politics? While treating Eco-DRR as a hybrid of nature and culture could demonstrate that “natural” disasters are rarely, if ever, wholly “natural” and that Eco-DRR is yet another blurred boundary, this presentation will attempt to make Eco-DRR “visible as a singularity.” (Foucault 2000, 226). That is, how does Eco-DRR offer new glimpses into forms of government and nature emerging today?