Living with Omega-3: New Materialism and Enduring Concerns

Abstract

In the early 21st century quite a few social scientists and scholars in the humanities are arguing that we should pay more attention to things material. For, as they say, not only humans act but so, too, do materials. Joining this discussion, in this paper we will use the case of omega-3 fatty acids to address the questions of how materials may act; in which ways this is relevant; and what is linked up with it. Hence, we will come to speak about research in prisons where inmates were badly nourished; fish being caught in the Global South for Scandinavian fish pills; and the urgency of shifting from the verb 'to act' to a differentiated list of modes of doing. Learning from the natural sciences, we will argue, requires that their methods and concerns be carefully attended to. Taking matters seriously comes with the obligation of tracing where such matters come from and where they go. And talking about 'action', finally, demands that, beyond liberal notions of isolated individual actors, it be creatively retheorised.

Cuerpos y prácticas: una década de estudios ctg

“…Más allá de estas dos temáticas, la línea de investigación de Rebeca Ibáñez Martín ha evolucionado hacia el estudio de la historia de la ciencia nutricional y sus prácticas epistémicas, especialmente centrándose en las grasas como objeto imprescindible para comprender la nutrición como una práctica científica que hace que diferentes prácticas alimentarias sean consideradas como "buenas" o "malas" (Abrahamsson et al 2015;Ibáñez Martín, 2014;Ibáñez Martín;Santoro, 2012;Ibáñez Martín, 2012a, b;Ibáñez Martín;González García, 2010;González García;Ibáñez Martín, 2009). Así mismo, el trabajo de Rebeca ha explorado prácticas de cuidado en entornos rurales, centrándose en un grupo de mujeres en el norte de Galicia, y cómo estas prácticas ayudan a transformar las versiones más tradicionales sobre la movilidad en el entorno rural (Ibáñez Martín, 2016).…”

“…¿Cuáles son las interferencias filosóficas que resultan del reflexionar sobre los cuerpos que comen? (Mol, 2008;Abrahamsson et al, 2015). Frente a una visión excesivamente discursiva del cuerpo, o constructivista, los estudios sobre diversidad funcional y el feminismo material ponen el acento en los intercambios materiales/sociales que se dan entre los cuerpos y lugares y nos recuerdan que el cuerpo no es sólo discursivo: es material (Abrahamsson et al, 2015).…”

“…(Mol, 2008;Abrahamsson et al, 2015). Frente a una visión excesivamente discursiva del cuerpo, o constructivista, los estudios sobre diversidad funcional y el feminismo material ponen el acento en los intercambios materiales/sociales que se dan entre los cuerpos y lugares y nos recuerdan que el cuerpo no es sólo discursivo: es material (Abrahamsson et al, 2015). Y lo material no puede ser dado por sentado, como la tabula rasa donde se inscriben los discursos, sino que debe ser "desempaquetado" teóricamente también (Haraway (1989), Haraway (1997) ;Barad, 2003).…”

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

“…'To be successful humanitarian goods must recognise their users, adjusting to the reality of their worlds even as they seek to change them' (p15) and Mol seek to address a number of issues. They acknowledge her identification of omega-3 as an object that alters human mood and cognition, but question her way of attending to 'science' in order to substantiate her claim (Abrahamsson et al 2015). For example, instead of focusing on supposedly generalized results, they argue it is important to pay attention to 'materials and methods' sections and the research practices they unfold.…”

From troublesome materials to fluid technologies: making and playing with plastic-bag footballs

“…35 Meanwhile, strands of actor-network theory insist that agency be attributed to associations of humans and nonhumans, rather than being identified as resident in the 'intrinsic qualities' of an assemblage's component parts. 36 We seek to transcend the oppositional tendencies of this debate, focusing on plastic-bag footballs as vernacular cultural geographic accomplishments, whereby the incessant materiality of component materials makes particular in situ associations of humans and nonhumans (in our case, policies, young men, wind, sand, water) possible.…”