Aubrie Cross

INTD: Science Writing

ac46@geneseo.edu

We have never been Modern

In Bruno Latours piece, We have never been Modern, he discuses the dichotomy between human culture and nature. In his paper he says “Modernity comes in as many versions as there are thinkers or journalists, yet all its definitions point, in one way or another, to the passage of time.” What Latour is saying here is that over time the idea of being “modern” has changed as well as it has multiple meanings but they’re all relatively the same. Later on he says that in order to really be “modern” then we have to realize the distinction between his two dichotomies which were the work of purification and the work of translation. However, Latour then says that if we look at both simultaneously then we stop being wholly modern. After he says that the reason for this is because ‘these two sets of practices have already been at work in historical practices which is coming to an end.’ I can see some of Latours ideas in my mini essay when it comes to the relationship between human culture and nature, however, I don’t fully see his ideas connecting to The Greek Tree.

Racheal Devine                                                      About 150 words

INTD Science Writing

rmd20@geneseo.edu

Response to “We Have Never Been Modern”

Taking worlds issues and major events Bruno Latour starts his essay about modernism and the meaning of being modern. He says, “The word ‘modern’ designates two sets of entirely different practices which must remain distinct if they are to remain effective, but have recently begun to be confused.” One being translation, as in new beings or hybrids and the other purification, with two groups human and non humans. Each not being able to work correctly without the other. This dichotomy between the human culture and nonhuman nature of purification and then again between the purification and translation is what makes us modern when they are kept separate. He states that if we pay attention to both then “we immediately stop being wholly modern” and that then our past would change also. Then leaving us with a final question, what we are going to become if they are not separate, and his response is that we will have to slow down, regulate the proliferation and represent the monster’s existence.

I don’t really see this connection back to my mini essay.

Matt Klein                                                            approximately 180 words

mgk6@geneseo.edu

INTD 105-19: Science Writing

We Have Never Been Modern Response

By Matt Klein

In his book We Have Never Been Modern, Bruno Latour analyzes the divisions that modernity has constructed between man and nature. While ancient societies made no distinctions between these, “modern” culture has separated the fields of science and sociology discrete groups. Latour defines his idea of modernism at the end of the first chapter. In order for modern society to “remain effective,” we must “[designate] two sets of entirely different practices which must remain distinct.” These practices are “translation,” which creates hybrids of nature and culture, and “purification,” which separates humans and nonhumans. While this seems paradoxical, Latour argues that both must exist in order us to become truly modern.

The Arboretum seems like a valid example of the practice of translation since it combines both nature and culture. I’m curious about how it has been viewed in the local media though, specifically whether or not it has been viewed as a separate part of campus unrelated to any other or if it has been discussed along with other aspects of the Geneseo culture. This would be a good point to research for my final essay.

Erik Buckingham                                                        approximately 150 words

10 MacVittie Circle

Geneseo, New York 14454

ekb7@geneseo.edu

“We Have Never Been Modern” Response

By: Erik Buckingham

In the New York Times, a few pages about biological and chemical advancement are listed under “science times” while political articles are seen throughout the whole newspaper. Author Bruno Latour’s views on modernisms stem from this separation of politics and nature.

In “We Have Never Been Modern”, Latour states that, “the analysts, thinkers, journalists, and decision makers will slice the delicate network… into tiny compartments where you will find only science, only economy, only social phenomena, only local news…”Latour believes that the more separate we keep our research in social and natural science, the more we will discover reasons to combine the two. He states, “the more we forbid ourselves to conceive of hybrids, the more possible their interbreeding becomes.”

The Suess Spruce is a tree that stands for perseverance, intertwining it with biology and society. This is a paradox because we are at a college that separates biology and sociology into two separate departments.

Daniel Biskup                                                                        Approx. 180 words

INTD 105

djb29@geneseo.edu

Latour’s argument begins by presenting an article on the depleting ozone layer in Antarctica, in order to give a lens in which to look through. He then goes on to explain the distinct areas that are affected, both science and politics. This mixing of the two within one issue makes it nearly impossible to view it from one stance because it takes away from the other, and yet it is also impossible to look through both simultaneously.

This scope gives way to Latour’s main argument in which he ponders on humanity’s own idea of modernity and where present day stands. Are we in the present day premodern, truly modern, or postmodern. The argument is based around two dichotomies, one separating human culture and nature, the second separating the first and hybridization of the two. In order to anthropologically analyze our current state both hybridization and separation must happen simultaneously and yet once this happens we stop being wholly modern. His point is paradoxical in that both must happen otherwise neither could take place, leaving it ambiguous on our state as human beings.

Patrick Jones                                                                Approximately 150 words

pwj2@geneseo.edu

INTD 105-19: Science Writing

We Have Never Been Modern

            We as a collective find it necessary to separate and classify everything around us. In Bruno Latour’s writing, We Have Never Been Modern, he addresses this necessity of ours and explains how it hinders our ability to be a “modern” world. Using a newspaper, Latour explains how problems like the diminishing ozone layer cannot be separated into distinct categories because, “A single thread links the most esoteric sciences and the most sordid politics…” For us to become a modern world we will either have to stop our need to categorize all aspects of society and nature or redefine what it means to be modern.

My view on the parking curb behind Milne Library acting as a division between nature and civilization contradicts Latour main argument in We Have Never Been Modern. My clear division ignores the multitudinous connections Latour argues exists between everything and stops humanity for entering a modern age.

Juniper Tremper
Scientific Writing 105-19
Geneseo, NY
~165 words

Modern Contamination
Juniper Tremper

If you, like Latour, believe that perfect distinction between categories defines being modern, then this chapter rings truth. We as humans voluntarily “retie the Gordian knot” of labels because we value titles that have been customized for our specific circumstances. After all, as Latour notes, we are hybrids ourselves. However, he says these complex distinguishments do not prove us to be modern, explaining that we have two goals as a civilization: the work of purification, and the work of translation. Purification refers to keeping humans separate from nature, while translation includes creating custom labels and hybrids. As Latour claims, “as soon as we direct our attention simultaneously to [both], we immediately stop being wholly modern.” The self described paradox that he proceeds to detail raises the unanswered question of what will we become if we do not have clear separation.

His writings are curious to consider, but have no clear comparison to the tree planted only to be cut down, unless you rearrange the tree’s situation to be hybridized to better suit your point.

Paul Weissfellner

Prof. Fenn

September 14, 2016

 We Have Never Been Modern

In the first chapter of his book, We Have Never Been Modern, Bruno Latour paints a picture of a society at odds with itself. In his analysis, modernity consists of two parallel, completely separate processes; that of hybridization, and that of purification. According to Latour, it is the separation between the two that is the marker of a modern society. However, in many ways, it is impossible to keep the two separate. “[purification] has made [hybridization] possible; the more we forbid ourselves to conceive of hybrids, the more possible their interbreeding becomes.” (12)

 Latour’s work touches on one of the most intense debates of the modern era: “what does it mean to be modern?” (8) The rock on the south side of campus addresses this question. It is natural, in that it was created by natural forces, and as such is pure and untouched. At the same time, it resides within the bounds of a human structure, that of the college campus, blending between natural and human simply by being.  The two processes pointed out by Latour, that must be kept separate for modernity to exist, coexist peacefully in it, turning his notion of modernity on its head.

Robert Romano

Rjr12@geneseo.edu

Are We Modern?

“We have never been modern, but we have found a way of thinking that we were” is stated by Bruno Latour in We Have Never Been Modern. Latour centers his piece around the idea of “modernism” and talks about how “modernism” deals with “purification” and “translation.” Latour compares science and sociology together and talks about how the world tries to keep these domains separate to be more modern as a society. He states that this is a paradox at its finest because the act of keeping society separate from nature is not allowing our society to reach a modern era. When I read Latour’s writing I found The Greek Tree to perfectly exemplify the vocal point of Latour’s writing. The Greek Tree allows students to support their fraternal/sorietal organization, which they have a tremendous amount of pride in and they get to express their way of life(culture) through the natural world.

Will Gerber                                                                                                      150 words

10 MacVittie Circle

Geneseo, New York 14454

(315) 250-9687

wrg1@geneseo.edu

We Have Never Been Modern

By Will Gerber

The first chapter of Bruno Latour’s We Have Never Been Modern is a commentary on ‘modern’ society’s attempt to categorize existence into rigid sciences. Latour criticizes the way we insist upon dividing the social and natural sciences into two absolutely fixed and completely separate matters. He claims that the two are entirely codependent and should be studied and discussed as such

The Greek Tree in the center of campus is a fitting illustration of Latour’s argument. One may see the tree through a natural lens, studying it as a biological specimen, or, through a social lens, regarding fraternal organizations’ effort to recruit them. However, few modern people would observe the entire picture, the way that we used the natural world to further our social causes.