Fritz Kahn, Der Mensch als Industriepalast, 1926. Detail. Image in public domainIntroduction: surveil, classify and predict
by Alexa Hagerty and Livia Garofalo
The works distilled by the authors and the discussion offered by Professor Emily Martin presented here were originally part of a roundtable at the Society for Psychological Anthropology 2021 biannual meeting. They seek to map the algorithmic …
Mounica Tata, Doodleodrama. “How are you today?” Wysa starts the conversation.
“Not well,” I reply.
“Sounds like today didn’t go well. I’m here for you. Describe how you’re feeling right now.”
“I’m feeling sad because I can’t see many of my relatives and friends at the moment due to corona restrictions. I’m also worried about the health of elderly …
This book forum brings together eight anthropologists to discuss Li Zhang’s Anxious China: Inner Revolution and Politics of Psychotherapy (University of California Press 2020). Zhang examines the rise of psychotherapeutic practices in contemporary China, documenting how techniques for managing mental distress are intersecting with new forms of self-care and modes of governing in the context of tremendous politico-economic transformation. While …
Pavel Égüez, “Cuarentena (Quarantine)” (2020), Oil paint on cardboard.In March 2020, the health and funerary system collapsed in Guayaquil. The largest city in Ecuador was one of the places most affected by Covid-19 in Latin America, perhaps even the world (Benítez et al., 2020; The New York Times, 2020). During the first weeks of the crisis, crude images of …
With Covid-19 showing no sign of abating, mental health care (from ongoing therapy to helplines) continues to be an important site of treatment for many Americans. While traditional therapy has continued to be prohibitively expensive for most, teletherapy has been covered by most major health insurance companies since the early days of the pandemic and is currently free for …
The Participant: A Century of Participation in Four Stories
University of Chicago Press, 2020. 344 pages.
A book about participation? Chris Kelty’s delightful new book begins by giving voice to his audience’s likely incredulity. Mimicking the standard response to the project, he launches with the question, “Participation in what?” In everything and nothing, of course. He notes …