The life of a pest an ethnography of biological invasion in Mexico

Wanderer, Emily

The life of a pest an ethnography of biological invasion in Mexico Emily Wanderer - Oakland, California The University of California Press 2020. - 1 online resource illustrations



Introduction : living better in Mexico -- From degenerates to regeneration, convicts to conservation -- The care of the pest and animal betrayals -- Acclimatizing biosecurity -- Invisible biologies, embodied environments -- The bureaucracy of genetic modification -- Conclusion : vivir mejor and the biodiverse nation

"The Life of a Pest tracks the work practices of scientists in Mexico as they study flora and fauna at scales ranging from microscopic to ecosystemic. Amid concerns about climate change, infectious disease outbreaks, and biotechnology, scientific research in Mexico has expanded its focus to go beyond threats to human life to include threats to animal, plant, and microbial worlds. Emily Wanderer outlines how concerns about biosecurity are leading scientists to identify populations and life-forms as worth saving or as "pests" in need of elimination. Moving from high security labs where scientists study infectious diseases, to offices where ecologists regulate the use of genetically modified organisms, to remote islands where conservationists eradicate invasive species, Wanderer explores how biopolitical research informs, and is informed by, concepts of nation"--



9780520972537

2019047768


Biopolitics--Mexico.


Electronic Books.

JA80 / .L544 2020