This class aims to assist the reader in approaching and understanding Bruno Latour’s Inquiry into Modes of Existence. Here, Latour provides answers to the questions he posed in previous books: If westerners aren’t actually “modern”, then what are they? In what ways can we better understand the relationship between science, religion and poetry? Do right and wrong exist? Can we actually obtain truth or objective knowledge about the world? How might we reconcile the impossibility of positivism and the failure of relativism? Inquiry into Modes of Existence attempts to provide answers to these questions and equip readers with the theories and methods to more meaningfully inquire into the world.

This class is for anyone who has ever been curious about “natural” or “social” aspects of human beings or wondered why society is the way it is. A background in philosophy or anthropology would be helpful, but is in no way necessary. This class is designed for students of all levels and aims to provide you with anthropological tools to help you more meaningfully inquire into the world in whatever direction you may choose.

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Brett Jackson is a PhD student at Michigan State. His research focuses on the relationship between science and American Indian Tribes in the context of archaeology and anthropology during the Cold War. He has taught classes in archaeology, cultural anthropology, and given lectures on the history of archaeology and the politics of American Indian communities. His thesis centers around the idea of “liberal logics” used by liberal states to justify their actions.