The book is an invitation to consider the continued relevance of Mary Douglas’ conceptualization of pollution and dirt as ‘matter out of place’ in relation to contemporary circumstances. Its ethnographic and theoretical contributions cover diverse contexts, ranging from Europe to Africa, the Caribbean, India and Outer Space.
Rebecca Lynch is Lecturer in Medical Anthropology at the University of Exeter. Her work explores the body and biomedicine, particularly bodily fluids and boundaries, bodily relations with non-humans (e.g., technologies), morality and biomedical categorization.