One of the foremost intellectuals of his generation, French philosopher of science Michel Serres (1930–2019) broke free from disciplinary dogmas. His reflections on science, culture, technology, art, and religion have proved foundational to scholars across the humanities. The contributors to Porous Becomings bring the inspirational and enigmatic world of Serres to the attention of anthropology. Through ethnographic encounters as diverse as angels and religious conversion in Ethiopia, the percolation of war in Bosnia, and incarcerated bodies crossing the Atlantic, the contributors showcase how Serres’s interrogation of the fundamentals of human existence opens new pathways for anthropological knowledge. Proposing the notion of "porosity" to characterize permeability across boundaries of time, space, literary genre, and academic discipline, they draw on Serres to map the constellations that connect humans, time, technology, and planet Earth. The volume concludes with a conversation between the editors and Vibrant Matter author Jane Bennett.
Contributors. Andreas Bandak, Jane Bennett, Tom Boylston, Steven D. Brown, Matei Candea, Alberto Corsín Jiménez, David Henig, Michael Jackson, Daniel M. Knight, Celia Lowe, Morten Nielsen, Stavroula Pipyrou, Elizabeth Povinelli, Andrew Shryock, Arpad Szakolczai
Preface / Andreas Bandak and Daniel M. Knight ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Angel Hair Anthropology with Michel Serres / Andreas Bandak and Daniel M. Knight 1
Part I. Of Parasites and Contracts
1. Three Tales on the Arts of Entrapment: Natural Contracts, Melodic Contaminations, and Spiderweb Anthropologies / Alberto Corsín Jiménez 33
2. Under the Sign of Hermes: Transgression, the Trickster, and Natural Justice / Michael Jackson 49
3. Keeping to Oneself: Hospitality and the Magical Hoard in the Balga of Jordan / Andrew Shryock 69
Chapter 3 Postscript: Connective Tissue / Andrew Shryock 91
4. Serres, the Sea, the Human, and Anthropology / Celia Lowe 99
Part II. Bodies in Time
5. Variations of Bodies in Motion and Relation / Elizabeth A. Povinelli 117
6. When War Percolates: On Topologies of Earthly Violence in a Planetary Age / David Henig 135
7. Feeling Safe in a Panbiotic World / Steven D. Brown 153
8. Michel Serres and Gregory Bateson: Implicit Dialogue about a Recognitive Epistemology of Nature / Arpad Szakolczai 175
Part III. Knowledge Quests
9. Angelology / Tom Boylston 199
10. Forms of Proximity / Stavroula Pipyrou 215
11. Comedic Transubstantiation: The Hermesian Paradox of Being Funny among Stand-Up Comics in New York City / Morten Nielsen 233
12. Michel Serres, Wisdom, Anthropology / Matei Candea 253
Afterword: Conversations with Jane Bennett / Jane Bennett, Andreas Bandak, and Daniel M. Knight 273
References 289
Contributors 311
Index 315
