Algebras and plots in risk calculation

Authors

  • Elías Sevilla Casas Universidad del Valle
  • Teresita Sevilla Peñuela Queen's University Belfast

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22380/2539472X.1214

Keywords:

Anthropology of health, medical anthropology, epidemiology, risk studies, public health

Abstract

Using Borges’ metaphor of “algebra and fire” we describe and discuss THE ways in which epidemiologists and public health officials, on the one hand, and anthropologists and sociologists, on the other, construct in cold blood the notion of health and life risks. Additionally, the complexity of risk wefts (tramas) constructed by people who pursue, while in action, their own interests at the cost of others’ risks are described using detailed examples, as well as the algebras applied to their own situation by those who take risks and suffer the consequences of those decisions. All these considerations are made from a technical and methodological point of view that centers on deriving expert designs for studying risks.

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Author Biographies

Elías Sevilla Casas, Universidad del Valle

Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Universidad del Valle, Cali

Teresita Sevilla Peñuela, Queen's University Belfast

PhD candidate in Sociology (Queen's University, Belfast)

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Published

2005-06-22

How to Cite

Sevilla Casas, E. ., & Sevilla Peñuela, T. . (2005). Algebras and plots in risk calculation. Revista Colombiana De Antropología, 40, 13–60. https://doi.org/10.22380/2539472X.1214

Issue

Section

Anthropological perspectives on public health