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The Resource The pandemic perhaps : dramatic events in a public culture of danger, Carlo Caduff

The pandemic perhaps : dramatic events in a public culture of danger, Carlo Caduff

Creator
Summary
"In 2005, American experts sent out urgent warnings throughout the country: a devastating flu pandemic was fast approaching. Influenza was a serious disease, not a seasonal nuisance; it could kill millions of people. If urgent steps were not taken immediately, the pandemic could shut down the economy and 'trigger a reaction that will change the world overnight.' The Pandemic Perhaps explores how American experts framed a catastrophe that never occurred. The urgent threat that was presented to the public produced a profound sense of insecurity, prompting a systematic effort to prepare the population for the coming plague. But when that plague did not arrive, the race to avert it carried on. Paradoxically, it was the absence of disease that made preparedness a permanent project. The Pandemic Perhaps tells the story of what happened when nothing really happened. Drawing on fieldwork among scientists and public health professionals in New York City, it's an investigation of how actors and institutions produced a scene of extreme expectation through the circulation of dramatic plague visions. It argues that experts deployed these visions to draw attention to the possibility of a pandemic, frame the disease as a catastrophic event, and make it meaningful to the nation. Today, when we talk about pandemic influenza, we must always say 'perhaps.' What, then, does it mean to engage a disease in the modality of the maybe?"--
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xvi, 254 pages
Contents
  • Introduction : the shape of things to come
  • A ferret's sneeze
  • On the run
  • Casualties of contagion
  • Experiments of concern
  • A real test
  • The great deluge
Isbn
9780520284098
Instance
Label
The pandemic perhaps : dramatic events in a public culture of danger
Title
The pandemic perhaps
Title remainder
dramatic events in a public culture of danger
Statement of responsibility
Carlo Caduff
Creator
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
"In 2005, American experts sent out urgent warnings throughout the country: a devastating flu pandemic was fast approaching. Influenza was a serious disease, not a seasonal nuisance; it could kill millions of people. If urgent steps were not taken immediately, the pandemic could shut down the economy and 'trigger a reaction that will change the world overnight.' The Pandemic Perhaps explores how American experts framed a catastrophe that never occurred. The urgent threat that was presented to the public produced a profound sense of insecurity, prompting a systematic effort to prepare the population for the coming plague. But when that plague did not arrive, the race to avert it carried on. Paradoxically, it was the absence of disease that made preparedness a permanent project. The Pandemic Perhaps tells the story of what happened when nothing really happened. Drawing on fieldwork among scientists and public health professionals in New York City, it's an investigation of how actors and institutions produced a scene of extreme expectation through the circulation of dramatic plague visions. It argues that experts deployed these visions to draw attention to the possibility of a pandemic, frame the disease as a catastrophic event, and make it meaningful to the nation. Today, when we talk about pandemic influenza, we must always say 'perhaps.' What, then, does it mean to engage a disease in the modality of the maybe?"--
Assigning source
Provided by Publisher
Cataloging source
CU-S/DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Caduff, Carlo
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Influenza
  • Influenza
  • Influenza
  • Epidemics
  • Epidemics
  • Epidemics
  • Communicable diseases
Label
The pandemic perhaps : dramatic events in a public culture of danger, Carlo Caduff
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-242) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier.
Content category
text
Content type MARC source
rdacontent.
Contents
Introduction : the shape of things to come -- A ferret's sneeze -- On the run -- Casualties of contagion -- Experiments of concern -- A real test -- The great deluge
Control code
FIEb17850745
Dimensions
24 cm.
Extent
xvi, 254 pages
Isbn
9780520284098
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia.
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)894745481
Label
The pandemic perhaps : dramatic events in a public culture of danger, Carlo Caduff
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-242) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier.
Content category
text
Content type MARC source
rdacontent.
Contents
Introduction : the shape of things to come -- A ferret's sneeze -- On the run -- Casualties of contagion -- Experiments of concern -- A real test -- The great deluge
Control code
FIEb17850745
Dimensions
24 cm.
Extent
xvi, 254 pages
Isbn
9780520284098
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia.
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)894745481

Subject

Library Locations

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      43.803074 11.283055

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