The Politics and Poetics of Infrastructure

Larkin, Brian

doi:10.1146/annurev-anthro-092412-155522

Cited by 2,390 publications

(1,225 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Agradeço ao apoio do CNPq e ao interesse dos agentes de endemias que permitiram o desenvolvimento da pesquisa. 2 A ideia de infraestrutura forma um pano de fundo para a refl exão e refere-se aqui a um aparato de governamentalidade que pode incluir artefatos, sistemas, instituições, discursos e formas de conhecimento (Larkin, 2013;Star, 1999). No caso particular de mosquitos, humanos, políticas e cidade, enfatizo uma infraestrutura digital e suas escalas, materiais, dinâmicas e produtos que permitem ou que estão envolvidos em suas relações (Kenner, 2014).…”

Section: Jean Segataunclassified

O Aedes aegypti e o digital

Segata

2017

Horiz. antropol.

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Section: Jean Segataunclassified

O Aedes aegypti e o digital

Segata

2017

Horiz. antropol.

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“…Social media, mobile apps, online maps, instant messaging, translation websites, wire money transfers, cell phone charging stations, and Wi-Fi hotspots all constitute what we would define as a new digital infrastructure for global movement. According to Larkin (2013), "What distinguishes infrastructures from technologies is that they are objects that create the grounds on which other objects operate, and when they do so they operate as systems" (p. 329). Larkin (2013) further posits that infrastructures can be technological, financial, biological, and social (pp.…”

Section: Exploring the Digital Passage: Technologies Actors And Relmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Larkin (2013), "What distinguishes infrastructures from technologies is that they are objects that create the grounds on which other objects operate, and when they do so they operate as systems" (p. 329). Larkin (2013) further posits that infrastructures can be technological, financial, biological, and social (pp. 338-339).…”

Section: Exploring the Digital Passage: Technologies Actors And Relmentioning

confidence: 99%

On Digital Passages and Borders: Refugees and the New Infrastructure for Movement and Control

Latonero

Kift

2018

Social Media + Society

120

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Since 2014, millions of refugees and migrants have arrived at the borders of Europe. This article argues that, in making their way to safe spaces, refugees rely not only on a physical but increasingly also digital infrastructure of movement. Social media, mobile devices, and similar digitally networked technologies comprise this infrastructure of "digital passages"-sociotechnical spaces of flows in which refugees, smugglers, governments, and corporations interact with each other and with new technologies. At the same time, a digital infrastructure for movement can just as easily be leveraged for surveillance and control. European border policies, in particular, instantiate digital controls over refugee movement and identity. We review the actors, technologies, and policies of movement and control in the EU context and argue that scholars, policymakers, and the tech community alike should pay heed to the ethics of the use of new technologies in refugee and migration flows.

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“…Some anthropologists of infrastructure have critically reexamined Star's claim that infrastructure becomes 'visible upon breakdown' (see Larkin 2013). Their key observation is that infrastructure can take on different meanings and thus different visibilities for different people, at different times, and in different places.…”

Section: Safety Infrastructure Visibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

When a Seawall Is Visible: Infrastructure and Obstruction in Post-tsunami Reconstruction in Japan

Kimura

2016

Science as Culture

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The triple disaster of March 11, 2011 posed a formidable challenge for Japanese society in general, and for affected coastal communities in particular. In the immediate aftermath of the catastrophe, there was widespread support for the construction of high seawalls to protect communities. However, many communities began questioning this approach. In Maehama, the question of land-reconstruction and protection gave rise to a set of complex responses. The government aimed to put in place even higher seawalls; however, the local community proposed instead to mark the boundary of high water with trees and stakes. These solutions instantiate different ways of infrastructuring the post-tsunami environment for safety, and they carry different assumptions about infrastructure itself. Whereas the seawall solution was technical and quantitative, centering on the question of height, the boundary markers embedded a qualitatively different set of assumptions about what makes a workable infrastructure. In particular this difference centered on issue of visibility. On the one hand, the seawall was meant to slowly become unremarkable, whereas the boundary markers were specifically intended to maintain community memory. On the other hand, the seawall would make the sea itself invisible, whereas keeping the sea in sight is very important to villagers. However, the opposition between these forms of infrastructuring the environment was not total. Slowly, a solution was negotiated in which the sea wall and the boundary markers could complement one another. This situation highlights the intricate and transformable relation between visible and invisible forms of infrastructure. KeywordsDisaster, Infrastructure, Invisibility, Japan, Visibility Biographical note on the author Shuhei Kimura is assistant professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Tsukuba, Japan. Since 2011 he has conducted field research in tsunami-stricken communities in northeastern Japan and published several research articles on disaster and public anthropology. 2 When a seawall is visible:Infrastructure and obstruction in post-tsunami reconstruction in Japan Acknowledgements I would like to thanks the anonymous reviewers, Casper Bruun Jansen and Atsuro Morita as well as the guest editors, Anders Blok, Brit Ross Winthereik and Moe Nakazora, for their very helpful comments on previous drafts.

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The Politics and Poetics of Infrastructure

Cited by 2,390 publications

References 81 publications

O Aedes aegypti e o digital

O Aedes aegypti e o digital

On Digital Passages and Borders: Refugees and the New Infrastructure for Movement and Control

When a Seawall Is Visible: Infrastructure and Obstruction in Post-tsunami Reconstruction in Japan

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