14.06.2022 at 18:30, register here.

by Laura Matt

Description: My ethnographic research evolves around the African Swine Fever pandemic in North-Eastern Brandenburg. On September 10, 2020, the first African Swine Fever (ASF) infected wild boar was confirmed in Germany (Brandenburg). The ASF virus infects wild boars and domestic pigs and causes a viral haemorrhagic fever. In response to the outbreak a range of biosafety measures have been established. These measures take the form of scientifically informed protocols and authoritative directives that need to be put into practice by local authorities, inhabitants, farmers and hunters. Most measurements aim at (re)gaining control over the (wild, invisible) virus by cutting off possible relations the virus might establish. In my talk I will share some ethnographic impressions of living and dying amidst the pandemic with you, and I invite you to think along with me on what could be aspects to further reflect upon.