Toward stronger theory in critical public health: insights from debates surrounding posthumanism

Abstract

The "posthumanist turn" in critical theory comprises efforts to recognize and analyze the interdependence of human existence with non-human entities, including other animals, spaces, and technologies. Scholarship aligned to and debating posthumanism pertains to public health, but has yet to be clearly articulated for a public health audience. This commentary and an appended glossary illustrate the relevance of these ideas for enhancing critical theory in public health.2

Posthumanist critique and human health: how nonhumans (could) figure in public health research

“…It is within this cluster that a large number of publications can be found that conceptually reflect upon or empirically apply the 'One-health' paradigm. The two publications that explicitly use the terminology of posthumanism can also be found in this cluster (Rock, 2013;Rock, et al, 2014).…”

“…Based on this analysis we consider how posthumanist theory could productively contribute to these areas of public health research into the future. This paper builds directly upon Melanie Rock, Chris Degeling and Gwendolyn Blue's (2014) argument that posthumanist theory is relevant for public health. Toward that end, Rock, Degeling and Blue have provided a synthetic review of the posthumanist literature, tracing it through post-structuralism generally and science and technology studies (STS) in particular.…”

“…In particular, this could be productively entwined with existing practices in both critical public health that explores power relationships and social epidemiology that explores relationalities between humans and things, such that posthumanism could extend not only critique in public health but also more applied practices. Rock, Degeling and Blue (2014) have provided an excellent discussion of the posthumanist literature for a public health audience. They note that humanism posited an intrinsic value for human life, and a universal capacity amongst people to be moral and rational.…”

“…However, public health research has not engaged with the posthumanist scholarship to date. We conducted a search of the terms 'posthuman' and 'public health' in Web of Science, and found only two entries; both articles were published in Critical Public Health and were written by the same lead author (Rock, 2013;Rock, Degeling, & Blue, 2014). As a point of comparison, a search in Web of Science for 'posthuman' within the social sciences and humanities resulted in 587 articles published between 2010 and 2014.…”

On difference and doubt as tools for critical engagement with public health

“…In a recent commentary Rock et al (2014) pull together diverse theoretical traditions including 'Actor Network Theory' (associated by the authors with Bruno Latour, Michel Callon and John Law) and the concept of 'enactment' (associated with Mol's book The Body Multiple). In her broader account of 'post anthropocentric thought ' Braidotti (2013) similarly draws heavily on STS though she makes more reference to feminist work associated with Donna Haraway, anthropologies of technology and Foucauldian studies of biopower under this heading.…”