Complexities：Social Studies of Knowledge Practices

Whilemuchrecentsocialscienceandhumanitiesworkhasbeenarevoltagainstsimplification,thisvolumeexploresthecontrastbetweensimplicityandcomplexitytorevealthatthisdichotomy,itself,istoosimplistic.JohnLawandAnnemarieMolhavegatheredadistinguishedpanelofcontributorstooffer-particularlywithinthefieldofsciencestudies-approachestoatheoryofcomplexity,andatthesametimeatheoreticalintroductiontothetopic.Indeed,theyexaminenotonlywaysofrelatingtocomplexitybutcomplexityinpractice.Individualessaysexaminecomplexityfromavarietyofperspectivesandcoveranarrayofcasestudiesandtopicsthatincludemarketbehaviour,medicalinterventions,aeronauticaldesign,thegoverningofsupranationalstates,ecology,road-building,meteorology,thescienceofcomplexityitself,andthepsychologyofchildhoodtrauma.Othertopicsincludecomplexwholes(holism)inthesciences,moralcomplexityinseeminglyamoralendeavours,andissuesrelatingtotheprotectionofAfricanelephants.Withafocusonsuchconceptsasmultiplicity,partialconnections,ebbs,andflows,thecollectionincludesnarrativesfromKenya,Belgium,GreatBritain,PapuaNewGuinea,theNetherlands,andFrance,writtenbyanthropologists,economists,philosophers,psychologists,sociologists,andscholarsofscience,technology,andsociety.