The Quantum in the Quotidian

Abstract

It began with a graduate seminar: Topics in Feminist Science Studies. A theoretical particle physicist housed in the Feminist Studies department of the university taught the seminar, and the course listing declared the seminar’s focus would be exploring "the virtual." As a returning student who left a fifteen-year career in inpatient pharmacy (a field which falls squarely within what are often referred to as the "hard" sciences) in order to pursue a PhD in a field largely characterized as interdisciplinary, I was intrigued. Generally, my research -- which touches upon disciplines as varied as medicine, social sciences, and the humanities -- results in me being faced with an "either/or" decision every time I want to register for a seminar, publish, or speak at a conference. I have learned, as one advisor stated early in my career, that I "will probably have two versions of everything I ever write, and will have to learn to...