Anarchism and Bio-politics in the Age of Dissent in Late Qing and Republican China, 1906–1945 (working title)
Dissertationsprojekt von Shangshang Wang
Betreuerin: Prof. Dr. Kärin Nickelsen
Shangshang Wang’s dissertation explores the radical political departure of anarchist biologists shaped by theories of evolution, microbiology, and embryology. This study is set within the transnational anarchist movement during a time of burgeoning biological interest in early 20th-century China and Europe. Through a synthesis of history of science and global intellectual history, the research examines three case studies of anarchist biologists to demonstrate how they developed concrete ideals—drawing from, for instance, Peter Kropotkin's concept of decentralization and Élisée Reclus’ human geography—at both scientific and societal levels, especially during an age of nationalism. Moreover, the dissertation uncovers an anarchist reading of a decentralized nature that, first and foremost, effectively intervenes in the production and popularization of biological knowledge; and second, negotiates the very idea of knowledge autonomy in an era of the science of control.