Abstract

This interview centers on A Matter of Detail, a collaborative volume that brings anthropology and philosophy into conversation through a shared concern with the concept and practice of detailing. Structured in three movements, the discussion begins with broad, conceptual questions about the aims of the book, including its refusal of a teleological and Eurocentric history of “detail” and its proposal to approach detail not as a fixed object but as a dynamic mode of attention. The editors reflect on how detailing operates across disciplines, not as the accumulation of facts, but as a way of articulating what matters and to whom. The second part of the interview turns to more specific chapters, exploring themes such as repetition and magnification, the dialectic between part and whole, the relation between detail and complexity, and the epistemological stakes of attending to detail without presupposing stable social orders. Contributors also discuss detail in relation to memory, vulnerability, authoritarian politics, and ordinary language philosophy, drawing on figures such as Wittgenstein, Cavell, Austin, and Veena Das. The interview concludes by reflecting on the book’s dialogical structure, its decision to forgo a synthetic conclusion, and its commitment to leaving disciplinary “seams” visible—inviting further conversation rather than closure.

Author's Department/Program

Anthropology

Author's School

Arts & Sciences

Document Type

Interview Transcript

Publication Date

2-11-2026

Language

English (en)

Author ORCID

Andrew Brandel, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6201-1635

Sandra Laugier, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9676-5854

Perig Pitrou, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3609-012X

Tomas de Oliveira, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8561-7354

Anna Wood, https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3230-1422

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