Viruses, Practices and Perception
The current pandemic strikingly reveals that the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 virus is inextricably intertwined in human practices. It is transmitted through everyday routines and understood though practices of scientific research. While praxeology as a theoretical approach is often used in historical r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Brepols Publishers
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Journal for the History of Environment and Society |
| Online Access: | https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.JHES.5.122471 |
| _version_ | 1797728765155999744 |
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| author | Sebastian Haumann |
| author_facet | Sebastian Haumann |
| author_sort | Sebastian Haumann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The current pandemic strikingly reveals that the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 virus is inextricably intertwined in human practices. It is transmitted through everyday routines and understood though practices of scientific research. While praxeology as a theoretical approach is often used in historical research to analyze social phenomena, it also provides a useful perspective on socio-environmental change, such as the spread of diseases. With a focus on human practices, this essay rejects notions subsumed under buzzwords like ‘New Materialism’ or ‘Post-Humanism’ which attribute ‘agency’ to entities such as viruses. Instead, it contends that while viruses do evolve beyond human control and have a significant impact on society, this impact is not only tied to human activities, but that humans are able to actively alter the course of the pandemic by reflecting on the nexus between practices and viruses. This article illustrates these mechanisms with examples from the current pandemic and the longer history of hygiene in the nineteenth century. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T11:18:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-76b44916c375475093eb31885706c65b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2506-6730 2506-6749 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T11:18:50Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Brepols Publishers |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal for the History of Environment and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-76b44916c375475093eb31885706c65b2023-09-02T01:31:44ZdeuBrepols PublishersJournal for the History of Environment and Society2506-67302506-67492020-01-01515115810.1484/J.JHES.5.122471Viruses, Practices and PerceptionSebastian HaumannThe current pandemic strikingly reveals that the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 virus is inextricably intertwined in human practices. It is transmitted through everyday routines and understood though practices of scientific research. While praxeology as a theoretical approach is often used in historical research to analyze social phenomena, it also provides a useful perspective on socio-environmental change, such as the spread of diseases. With a focus on human practices, this essay rejects notions subsumed under buzzwords like ‘New Materialism’ or ‘Post-Humanism’ which attribute ‘agency’ to entities such as viruses. Instead, it contends that while viruses do evolve beyond human control and have a significant impact on society, this impact is not only tied to human activities, but that humans are able to actively alter the course of the pandemic by reflecting on the nexus between practices and viruses. This article illustrates these mechanisms with examples from the current pandemic and the longer history of hygiene in the nineteenth century.https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.JHES.5.122471 |
| spellingShingle | Sebastian Haumann Viruses, Practices and Perception Journal for the History of Environment and Society |
| title | Viruses, Practices and Perception |
| title_full | Viruses, Practices and Perception |
| title_fullStr | Viruses, Practices and Perception |
| title_full_unstemmed | Viruses, Practices and Perception |
| title_short | Viruses, Practices and Perception |
| title_sort | viruses practices and perception |
| url | https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.JHES.5.122471 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sebastianhaumann virusespracticesandperception |