Beyond Micro & Macro: Rethinking the Methods & Politics of Scale

This keynote fireside chat approaches scale not as a neutral analytic category but as a social and political process. It examines how scales are produced, stabilized, and contested through institutional practices and methodological choices, and how this practice shapes what counts as knowledge and whose perspectives circulate.

The talk, which is based around a series of “fireside” questions, will explore time and spatial scales, scaling solutions and methodologies, the frictions and exclusions generated by scalar logics, and the methodological and ethical stakes of working across scales.

Chaired by , UCLA.

is a linguistic and cultural anthropologist from the University of Michigan who researches social interaction and communication and the history and politics of scale. He has written widely on the theme of scale, including (with E. Summerson Carr) (2016) and (2024).

is the Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science at the Yale School of the Environment. She is one of the world’s leading experts on urbanization and its effects on the planet, with a focus on time and spatial scales, as well as scaling solutions and methodologies. Her book, , co-authored with Meredith Reba (YSE MEM ’14), uses satellite imagery to show how cities shape landscapes and how landscapes shape cities.

The lecture will run from 16:00 - 17:30 (doors open 15:45), followed by a drinks reception in the foyer.

This is an in-person event that will also be made available online - select whether you will be attending in-person or online when registering.

Please see accessibility information for the venue here: https://www.accessable.co.uk/university-of-bristol/access-guides/social-sciences-complex-priory-road-complex.

If you have any questions, please do contact [email protected]

Find out more about the INFRACURSIONS project here: https://infracursions.org/

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Host or Publisher Amy Penfield