The group will scrutinise the categories of ‘waste’ and ’the body’. We will examine the classificatory principles applied to define them in their temporal and geographical variations, and the meanings and potentials of waste in various sociocultural settings in order to allow for a better understanding of the ideologies and practices of dealing with animal and human bodies. We will explore this versatile topic through approaches from history of science and medicine, anthropology, environmental history and urban studies. 

The general questions for discussion and investigation include (but are not limited to):

• What can be considered waste and what are the conditions and presuppositions for classifying it as such?
• How does bodily waste as well as regulations, practices, and values related to it enable better understanding of 'the human' and ‘the animal'
• What opportunities does bodily waste open up for theorising and thinking about knowledge production and society?  

We will discuss a chapter from Alex Blanchette’s “Porkopolis” (2020) and a chapter from Marcy Norton’s book (on human-animal relations in pre-Hispanic early modern America) in progress.

• For Blanchette: chapter 10 (Lifecycle: On Using All of the Porcine Species) is available via link; you might also have a look at the preface and introduction to the monograph, available here.
• For Norton: please let Maria Pirogovskaya or Tamar Novick know that you are are going to participate and we’ll send you the text.