Submitted by: Dr. Melissa Autumn White
A source of fascination and fear, cross-species viruses challenge the very possibility of “sovereign subjects” and “sovereign nations” so central to Western epistemologies. Unsurprisingly, international scientific networks, pharmaceutical companies and supra/national regulatory bodies are invested in neutralizing the effects of such viruses on (some) human lives. But what if we turned our attention to the virus’s capacity to map cross-species interdependencies, mobilities, and environmental changes? What might we learn from the virus? From the critical edge of queer ecological thought, this research approaches the virus as indexing an “intimate transnationalism,” a powerful lens through which to reconsider our (un)common eco-futures.