Article from Scientific American: "We Need Social Science, Not Just Medical Science, to Beat the Pandemic" Apr 2, 2021 10:30 am26 views In this article, Nicolas Dirks argues that we need tools from both medical and social science to get control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Human behavior and issues of social inequity have been prominent features in the successes and failures of confronting this crisis in global health. NEW BOOK of Interest: Michael Hunter, The Decline of Magic Britain in the Enlightenment (Yale U Press, 2020) Mar 8, 2021 10:30 am35 views A new book re-examines how witch trial in England became unfashionable during the Enlightenment. Often seen as a triumph of reason and objectivity over superstition, Dr. Hunter shows that this transition was far more complex and doesn't fit this comforting dichotomy. This book provides a timely perspective on the social and cultural complexity in confrontations that purport to be about reason and unreason. An introduction to the work of Bruno Latour Mar 5, 2021 6:45 pm66 views This NYT article is a good introduction to the work of Bruno Latour, who has done much to complicate how we understand the truth claims of science and how they arise, work, and fade in contemporary and historical societies.