Michael Scroggins
Biographic Data
| ID | 122394 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael Scroggins |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael |
| FAMILY NAME | Scroggins |
| SIGNATURE | SCROGGINS M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Los Angeles |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2754-5006 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 8 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
A Modest Proposal for University Reform
For decades, anthropologists have fought against the intrusion of neoliberal policies and norms into the university. We have lost. Today, neoliberal policies are ubiquitous within the university, forming the contours of our professional practice and informing our relationships with colleagues, administrators, and students. Given this reality, this article presents a practical model for university reform and encourages anthropologists to give up o…
An Immodest Rejoinder
This article responds to the claims of Beck and High that the age of neoliberalism has passed and a new age of illiberalism is upon us. Against Beck and High, I argue that illiberalism is not opposed to neoliberalism, but rather accelerates it. In closing, I offer several practical strategies for navigating (thriving, even) in this illiberal, but still neoliberal, political moment
A feral science? Dangers and disruptions between DIYbio and the FBI
Building on theory within anthropology and associated fields, I develop feralness as a lens for understanding the complexity of technological afterlives. Conceptual development proceeds through a case study of the relationship between Do-it-Yourself Biology (DIYbio), nonprofessional scientists experimenting with the established technology of recombinant DNA in new contexts such as garages and kitchens, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI…
Labor Out of Place
We apply the concept of invisible labor, as developed by labor scholars over the last forty years, to data-intensive science. Drawing on a fifteen-year corpus of research into multiple domains of data-intensive science, we use a series of ethnographic vignettes to offer a snapshot of the varieties and valences of labor in data-intensive science. We conceptualize data-intensive science as an evolving field and set of practices and highlight parall…
Poverty and the savage slot
In today’s anthropology, the word “culture” is conspicuous by its absence from anthropological discourse. But the word is still alive outside anthropology, particularly in sociology and psychology
Ignoring Ignorance
Theoretically, this article seeks to broaden the conceptualization of ignorance within STS by drawing on a line of theory developed in the philosophy and anthropology of education to argue that ignorance can be productively conceptualized as a state of possibility and that doing so can enable more democratic forms of citizen science. In contrast to conceptualizations of ignorance as a lack, lag, or manufactured product, ignorance is developed her…
The meanings of production(s)
Drawing on anthropological theories of play, deep play and games, as well as sociological interaction theories of risk, this paper develops a theory of consequential games. This paper suggests that in the United States much expert or entrepreneurial activity can be seen as a competition over creating the rules of games that others must play. In turn, whatever peril lies in these consequential games is the province of the saps that have to play, a…
Culture of Poverty
The meanings of production(s)
Drawing on anthropological theories of play, deep play and games, as well as sociological interaction theories of risk, this paper develops a theory of consequential games. This paper suggests that in the United States much expert or entrepreneurial activity can be seen as a competition over creating the rules of games that others must play. In turn, whatever peril lies in these consequential games is the province of the saps that have to play, a…
Culture of Poverty
Ignoring Ignorance
Theoretically, this article seeks to broaden the conceptualization of ignorance within STS by drawing on a line of theory developed in the philosophy and anthropology of education to argue that ignorance can be productively conceptualized as a state of possibility and that doing so can enable more democratic forms of citizen science. In contrast to conceptualizations of ignorance as a lack, lag, or manufactured product, ignorance is developed her…
The meanings of production(s)
Drawing on anthropological theories of play, deep play and games, as well as sociological interaction theories of risk, this paper develops a theory of consequential games. This paper suggests that in the United States much expert or entrepreneurial activity can be seen as a competition over creating the rules of games that others must play. In turn, whatever peril lies in these consequential games is the province of the saps that have to play, a…
Labor Out of Place
We apply the concept of invisible labor, as developed by labor scholars over the last forty years, to data-intensive science. Drawing on a fifteen-year corpus of research into multiple domains of data-intensive science, we use a series of ethnographic vignettes to offer a snapshot of the varieties and valences of labor in data-intensive science. We conceptualize data-intensive science as an evolving field and set of practices and highlight parall…
Poverty and the savage slot
In today’s anthropology, the word “culture” is conspicuous by its absence from anthropological discourse. But the word is still alive outside anthropology, particularly in sociology and psychology
A feral science? Dangers and disruptions between DIYbio and the FBI
Building on theory within anthropology and associated fields, I develop feralness as a lens for understanding the complexity of technological afterlives. Conceptual development proceeds through a case study of the relationship between Do-it-Yourself Biology (DIYbio), nonprofessional scientists experimenting with the established technology of recombinant DNA in new contexts such as garages and kitchens, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI…
A Modest Proposal for University Reform
For decades, anthropologists have fought against the intrusion of neoliberal policies and norms into the university. We have lost. Today, neoliberal policies are ubiquitous within the university, forming the contours of our professional practice and informing our relationships with colleagues, administrators, and students. Given this reality, this article presents a practical model for university reform and encourages anthropologists to give up o…
An Immodest Rejoinder
This article responds to the claims of Beck and High that the age of neoliberalism has passed and a new age of illiberalism is upon us. Against Beck and High, I argue that illiberalism is not opposed to neoliberalism, but rather accelerates it. In closing, I offer several practical strategies for navigating (thriving, even) in this illiberal, but still neoliberal, political moment
Sociology (5 works) · Law (3 works) · Political science (3 works) · Computer Science (2 works) · Economics (2 works) · Geographies of human-animal interactions (2 works) · Law (2 works) · Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations (2 works) · Philosophy (2 works) · Poverty (2 works)