April 18, 2018
Joshua A. Bell, Curator of Globalization, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Cell phones are among people’s most prized possessions. They play an important role in daily life, facilitating everything from communications with others to the recording of social experiences and emotions. Despite the importance and ubiquity of cell phones, few people know how these devices are made or what happens to them after they are discarded. Using an anthropological lens, Joshua Bell will discuss the international network of relations that underpins the production, repair, and disposal of cell phones and the emerging social implications of this network at both global and local levels.
Presented in collaboration with the Cambridge Science Festival