About

Platypus, the newly renamed CASTAC Blog, is a web log for discussion and exchange on anthropological studies of science and technology as social phenomena. It was originally launched in 2012 by Jenny Cool, Patricia G. Lange, and Jordan Kraemer, who are members of the Committee on the Anthropology of Science, Technology, and Computing. Platypus aims to promote dialogue on theories, tools, and social interactions that explore questions at the intersection of anthropology and science and technology studies.

We seek to build a thriving discourse among a community of scholars concerned about the implications of techno-science, technologized products, and worldviews for human beings and other forms of life. Our approach is interdisciplinary and inclusive. We encourage both regular and occasional contributions from students, faculty, and researchers within and beyond academia.

The blog welcomes contributions from new authors working at the intersection of anthropology and science and technology studies, including (but not limited to) scholars, students, and researchers outside academe.

To Become a Contributor

If you would like to contribute or have an idea for an article, please contact the Contributing Editor who covers the topic (you can find the list of CEs below), or whose area of interest is most closely related. It is fine to contact more than one CE simultaneously if the topic links to multiple areas of interest (but please indicate that you have done so). If you cannot identify an appropriate CE, email the Editor (editor@castac.org).

Content Guidelines

We welcome original contributions of approximately 1200-1800 words, especially short essays accessible to a broad audience interested in anthropology, science, technology, and related topics. We publish a range of posts, including: those based on original research, such as doctoral research; commentary and critique of current events or issues, especially from an anthropological perspective; discussions of pedagogy, research methods, and tools; interviews; and reflections on science and technology in popular culture.

We are especially interested in timely pieces that draw on scholarly research and analysis to provide insight into current topics and events.

Editorial Policies

All posts submitted are reviewed for length, clarity, and style, primarily to ensure posts are appropriate for the blog format. Authors work with Contributing Editors to finalize their contribution, but all final editorial decisions rest with the Editor. We reserve the right to make final copy edits, including formatting and title changes as necessary. Please make sure all images are reproduced with permission or are not subject to copyright. All submissions should be formatted as Microsoft Word documents and emailed directly to the appropriate CE, after prior arrangements have been made via email.

Authors will need to create their own WordPress accounts on the CASTAC Blog, which they can do at any time by clicking “register” (also available as a drop-down from the main menu).

About the Platypus

The platypus may seem like a strange choice as the dominate visual element of CASTAC’s new web presence. What could a rare endemic species from Australia have to do with an association of anthropologists who study science, technology, and computing? On the surface, the platypus and CASTAC share a common eclectic nature. Like the platypus with its duck-like bill, fur, webbed feet, venomous spurs, electroreception, lactation and oviparity, CASTAC’s membership is an eclectic collection of anthropologists who represent diverse areas of expertise and sets of skills.

Yet, the platypus is more than a symbol of bricolage. Once considered to be an elaborate hoax, the platypus has existed as a challenge, a critique, and an inspiration for scientists, social scientists, and artists. From its discovery to the mapping of its genome, the platypus has been an intellectual object that allows us to think about hybridity and complexity through its anatomy, question the assumptions and production of scientific knowledge and practice through its history, and inspire new ideas on perception, evolution, and technology. The platypus is more than an odd creature; it represents the kinds of materials, practices and knowledges that inspire us as anthropologists to examine the roles of science, technology, and computing in the lives and cultures of people.

General inquiries

Contact the Editor (editor@castac.org)
For questions about CASTAC generally, please contact the CASTAC Co-Chairs (co-chairs@castac.org).

 

Masthead

Platypus, the CASTAC Blog, is brought to you by:

Editor

Platypod Producer

Web Producer

    Multimodal Contributing Editors

    • Karina Aranda — (karina.aranda@unam.edu)
      Topics: care, experimental methodologies, research, disability
      Karina Aranda holds an MA in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine from the University of Manchester (UK). She is a Multimodal Contributing Editor for Platypus, […] View full profile.
    • Mauricio Baez — (baez.m@javeriana.edu.co)
      Topics: euroscience, geopolitics of knowledge, critical psychology, and audiovisual criticism.
      Mauricio Báez is a Ph.D. candidate at Universidad Javeriana. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's in Epistemology of Social and Natural Sciences. […] View full profile.
    • Genevieve Collins — (genevieve.collins@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk)
      Topics: Critical Temperature Studies, Cold Humanities, Cryosphere, Multimodal Ethnography
      Genevieve Collins is a Postgraduate Researcher at the University of Manchester undertaking a PhD in Social Anthropology with Visual Media. Her research with scientists and artists […] View full profile.
    • kayah — (kayahnicholas@gmail.com)
      Topics: digital infrastructures; conspiracy cultures and alternative epistemologies; hate, extremism, and violence on online platforms; data governance and visibility regimes
      Kayah (they/them) is a non-binary social scientist based in Brazil, and a master’s student in Social Anthropology at the University of São Paulo (USP). Their research […] View full profile.
    • Dani Dilkes — (ddilkes2@uwo.ca)
      Topics: speculation, biomimicry, critical theory, postdigital, disability justice
      Dani is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work sits at the intersection of feminist sociomaterialism and design and epistemic justice. She is interested in interrogating and changing […] View full profile.
    • Christine Kim — (chrisjk7@uci.edu)
      BA'21-PHD-ing at UC Irvine Anthropology! Talk or write to me in: Korean and English (native), Mandarin Chinese (professional), Japanese (beginning) View full profile.
    • Junnan Mu — (junnanmu@fas.harvard.edu)
    • Chen Shen — (chshen@stanford.edu)
      Topics: Energy, Electricity, Environment
    • Seon Shim — (seonshim@student.ubc.ca)
      Topics: disability, media, Korea
      Multimodal Contributing Editor 2026, PhD student in Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, documentary filmmaker with a special interest in Korean autistic artists and disability […] View full profile.

    Contributing Editors

    • Jackie Ashkin — (jackieashkin@gmail.com)
      Jackie Ashkin is a scholar of science, technology, and the environment based in the Netherlands. Her research focuses on the politics of knowing and adapting to […] View full profile.
    • Tayeba Batool — (tbatool@sas.upenn.edu)
      Tayeba Batool is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her dissertation project focuses on urban ecology, spatial politics, and […] View full profile.
    • Samiksha Bhan — (bhan@eth.mpg.de)
      Topics: precarious ecologies; postcolonial science and technology; indigenous genomics
      Samiksha Bhan is a PhD candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Germany. She works on the provision of genetic health services to India's […] View full profile.
    • Melina Campos — (melinacampos@gmail.com)
    • Thomson Chakramakkil — (thomson.chakramakkil@gmail.com)
      Topics: labour & technology, medical anthropology, urban mobility
      Thomson Chakramakkil is a PhD candidate in the Technology in Society research cluster, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Delhi. He has held visiting fellowships […] View full profile.
    • Aisha Chughtai — (aishaamirchughtai@gmail.com)
      Topics: Popular education, health policy, international practice, socio-politics
      Aisha has previously completed a Fulbright Fellowship and graduate training at the University of Pennsylvania in Public Health and Medical Anthropology. She is currently working as […] View full profile.
    • Evan Conaway — (econaway@uci.edu)
      Evan P. Conaway is a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. His dissertation work examines how servers shape the […] View full profile.
    • Iván Flores — (ivanfloresobregon@gmail.com)
      Topics: ethnography, play, video games, digital cultures
      Doctor en Ciencias Antropológicas por la UAM Iztapalapa. Me interesan los procesos de apropiación tecnológica, cuestionar la centralidad del trabajo, la importancia del ocio, el juego […] View full profile.
    • Lilith Frakes — (lfrakes@ucsc.edu)
      Topics: Multispecies Ethnography, Care, STS, Primatology
      Lilith Frakes is a PhD student in the History of Consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz, with designated emphases in Anthropology and Critical Race […] View full profile.
    • Volney Friedrich — (volneykf@gmail.com)
      Topics: health, genetics, evolution
      Volney Frriedrich is a genetic anthropologist with a PhD whose research sits at the intersection of infectious disease, evolutionary genetics, and sexual health. Her work focuses […] View full profile.
    • Ritu Ghosh — (rghosh23@uic.edu)
      I am a PhD candidate in Anthropology at the University of Illinois, Chicago. I am interested in the intersections of gender, reproductive technologies and justice, and […] View full profile.
    • Tiên-Dung Hà — (tdha@stanford.edu)
      Hà is a PhD student in Anthropology at Stanford University. Her research interests are concerned with anthropology of science, postcolonial science, genomics and identity, and postwar […] View full profile.
    • Bronte Jones — (bronte.jones@ecu.edu.au)
      Topics: assisted reproduction technologies; genetic screening; medical anthropology; microbiome
      Bronte Jones is a medical anthropologist and sociologist from Australia researching reproduction, gender and family formation, particularly among LGBTQIA+ people who access assisted reproductive technologies. They […] View full profile.
    • Aaron Neiman — (aaronn@wustl.edu)
      Topics: Mental health, mobile health, neoliberalism, Australia
      I am a medical anthropologist studying the increasing use of computer-automated psychotherapy. View full profile.
    • Juan Camilo Ospina Deaza — (jospinad95@gmail.com)
      Topics: Global South perspectives, Health, technology
      Juan Camilo Ospina Deaza is an anthropologist and bioethicist whose work examines health, care, and emerging technologies. His research focuses on AI ethics, antimicrobial use, and […] View full profile.
    • Shreyasha Paudel — (shreyasha_pdl@proton.me)
      Topics: Technology, Majority world, Climate tech
      I am a Ph.D. student at the University of Toronto in the Department of Computer Science. My research draws on critical data studies and feminist and […] View full profile.
    • Andra Sonia Petrutiu — (ap794@cornell.edu)
      Topics: postcolonial STS; anthropology and history of computing; infrastructure, affect, and nationalism studies
    • Clarissa Reche — (clari.reche@gmail.com)
      Artist, educator and researcher, working on the frontier between science and art. Doctoral student in Social Sciences (UNICAMP, Brazil) developing research on menstruation and fieldwork in […] View full profile.
    • Pradip Sarkar — (lordlmondo@gmail.com)
      Topics: Popular music, AI, Higher education, Information Systems
      I am an academic in Information Systems and Media Studies, and my research draws from STS and ethnographic methods. Currently, I am undertaking a 2nd PhD […] View full profile.
    • Victor Secco — (victorsecco@gmail.com)
      Topics: Microbiology, Bioinformatics, Food safety regulation, Sampling
      Victor Secco is a social anthropologist working at the intersections of microbiology, environment, and religion. His PhD from the University of Manchester examined bacteriophage research and […] View full profile.
    • Kanikka Sersia — (kanikka.sersia@graduateinstitute.ch)
      Topics: Algorithms, Platforms, Labor, Technoscience
      Kanikka Sersia is a PhD Candidate in Anthropology and Sociology at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland. Her research interest lies in the Anthropology of technoscience and […] View full profile.
    • Misria Shaik Ali — (s.a.misria@gmail.com)
      Topics: Porosity, Environmental Humanities, Radiation, Health
      I am currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at IIT-Delhi. I hold PhD in Science and Technology Studies (STS) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. My research advances Critical […] View full profile.
    • Eva Steinberg — (esteinberg@gradcenter.cuny.edu)
      Topics: agriculture, conservation, genetics, reproduction
    • Sook Lin Toh — (stoh@usc.edu)
      Topics: healthtech/medtech, Southeast Asia, archival methods in anthropology, personalisation
      I am a PhD Candidate in Anthropology at the University of Southern California. My research looks broadly at the intersections between healthcare, technological innovation and finance […] View full profile.
    • Sameeha — (sameeha.vardhan98@gmail.com)
      Topics: Digital Intimacies, Profiles as Performances, Algorithmic Imaginaries, Matchmaking and Beyond
      I'm a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at Texas State University. My dissertation looks at how digital matchmaking platforms are reshaping marriage practices and moral […] View full profile.
    • Michelle Venetucci — (michelle.venetucci@yale.edu)
      Michelle Venetucci is an anthropologist studying the interplay between middle class domesticity and speculative finance in Silicon Valley, exploring the implications for how emerging technologies are […] View full profile.
    • Wanqing Iris Zhou — (wanqingzhou@brandeis.edu)
      Topics: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI); anthropology/history of computing; knowledge production; technology, morality, and identity

      Editors-at-Large

      • Svetlana Borodina — (ssborodina@gmail.com)
        Currently, Svetlana Borodina is a senior UX researcher at US Bank where she uses qualitative research methods to generate insights that inform product and strategy development. […] View full profile.
      • Baird Campbell — (bccampbe@gmail.com)
        I am currently a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Rice University’s Program in Writing and Communication. I received my PhD in sociocultural anthropology from Rice University in […] View full profile.
      • Jordan Kraemer — (jk5773@nyu.edu)
        Topics: social media, mobility, transnationalism, design
        Anthropologist of social and mobile media, working on the intersection of emerging media technologies and everyday experiences of space and place, especially transnational connections in Berlin […] View full profile.
      • Patricia G. Lange — (plange@cca.edu)
        Patricia G. Lange is an anthropologist studying Latinas in technology and entrepreneurship. She also studies use of social media and video to express the self and […] View full profile.
      • Ian Lowrie — (il4@rice.edu)
        Topics: Artificial intelligence, infrastructures, informatics
        I'm a visiting assistant professor of urban social science at Portland State University, and study data work, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. View full profile.
      • Katie Ulrich — (kulrich@g.harvard.edu)
        I am a cultural anthropologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies. My research focuses on petrochemical replacements made from sugarcane, […] View full profile.

      Contributing Editor Alumni

      This list of Contributing Editor Alumni includes former contributing editors and multimodal contributing editors with active CASTAC accounts and who are not currently serving in another role with Platypus. If your name is missing from the list or if you would like to have your name removed, please contact the Editor (editor@castac.org).