Human Extinction and the Pandemic Imaginary

Nested in debates among anthropologists, philosophers, social theorists and STS scholars, this book argues that global fascination with the 'next pandemic' stems not so much from anticipation of biological extinction of human species, as from expectation of loss of mastery over human-animal relations, as ontological pivot of humanity.

Christos Lynteris is Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews, UK. His books for Routledge include Plague and the City (2018) and The Anthropology of Epidemics (2019).

Introduction: the end of mastery 1.The end of the world as We Do Not Know It 2. Zoonotic transformations 3. Anthropogenesis reversed 4. The epidemiologist as culture hero 5. The post-pandemic condition Conclusion: catastrophism beyond closure Bibliography