The project

This project started in 2019, during my year as a visiting fellow at Utrecht University (Netherlands). I was conducting a research project on reports of people who use prescription substances regularly in Brazil, especially clonazepam, a benzodiazepine (so-called, tranquilizer). In my last journey, I was inspired by the works of many of the guests of this project. Their work has helped me posing more appropriate questions to the field and building up analytical tools to conduct the field analysis. This series of interviews was designed for sketching out an overview – albeit partial – of the research scenario of anthropologists, sociologists, and historians in the field of drug studies, ranging from some of its founding scholars to authors from newer generations, so as to present readers with their specific contributions to the area. It intends to be useful not only for junior researchers – as a guide to authors, the core literature, theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches in the field – but also for experts, who will be able to draw on it as a bibliographical resource and source of updated information. Our goals are 1. the publication of each interview in leading journals in the field; 2. a website to give access to edited versions of the recorded interviews; 3. a book of interviews in its full-length versions (in Portuguese and an English). We hope that all these materials will be included in the reading lists of degree and postgraduate courses in medicine, psychology, social science, pharmacology, anthropology, and related fields.

This set of interviews is the result of the first phase of the project, which took place during 2019. There are more interviews about to come with new guests while we are going through the COVID-19 pandemics – a time when it is crucial to re-examine the role of pharmaceuticals embedded in our hopes about the future, our beliefs and our every day lives. I would like to thank the State University of Rio de Janeiro and the Utrecht University for their support so far.

Drug Trajectories: Interviews with Researchers
Zorzanelli, R. (2020). Drug Trajectories: Interviews with Researchers. Pharmacy in History,
62(1-2), 47-48. doi:10.26506/pharmhist.62.1-2.0047

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