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The Nuts and Bolts of Grant Writing: Locke: Proposals That Work + Aldridge: The Research Funding Toolkit + Carr: The Nuts And Bolts Of Grant Writing
by Cynthia E. CarrIn this practical, accessible guide for students, faculty, and other university personnel, author Cynthia E. Carr shares her best practices for planning, writing, and winning research grants based on her own experience submitting more than 300 grant proposals and securing millions of dollars in awards. Insightful, innovative, and informative, the book goes beyond coverage of standard grant writing to specifically address the issues faced by the higher education community, including the university bureaucracy and how to navigate it. The Nuts and Bolts of Grant Writing covers everything from budgets to submissions and federal to foundation competitions, giving novices the opportunity to leapfrog over some of the hard lessons that most college and university grant seekers must learn from trial and error and allowing those with more experience to sharpen their skills. “At last, a book aimed at helping college faculty learn the ins and outs of obtaining grant funding. Today more than ever, faculty at all types and level of schools want and need to pursue grant money to support their research efforts; and now they have useful tool to help them get started.” —Craig P. Donovan, Kean University “Insightful, innovative, and informative! A ‘must-read’ for the novice grant writer who is looking to gain some behind-the-scenes experience. I thoroughly enjoyed this text.” —Armen Shaomian, University of South Carolina “It is good, solid information, written in an understandable language. I like its honesty and straightforwardness. The author clearly knows the material and has information critical to the process of successful grant proposal writing.” —Sandra Yudilevich Espinoza, Salem State University “The inclusion of text about working with university-sponsored research and university relations is great. This is an important topic that, to my knowledge, has not been addressed in other grant writing books.” —Karen A. Randolph, Florida State University “The examples, boxes, and glossaries in the proposal are excellent and provide a ‘real-life’ look at the concepts being presented.” —Carol E. Gettings, State University of NY College at Buffalo
The Nuts and Bolts of Grant Writing: Locke: Proposals That Work + Aldridge: The Research Funding Toolkit + Carr: The Nuts And Bolts Of Grant Writing
by Cynthia E. CarrIn this practical, accessible guide for students, faculty, and other university personnel, author Cynthia E. Carr shares her best practices for planning, writing, and winning research grants based on her own experience submitting more than 300 grant proposals and securing millions of dollars in awards. Insightful, innovative, and informative, the book goes beyond coverage of standard grant writing to specifically address the issues faced by the higher education community, including the university bureaucracy and how to navigate it. The Nuts and Bolts of Grant Writing covers everything from budgets to submissions and federal to foundation competitions, giving novices the opportunity to leapfrog over some of the hard lessons that most college and university grant seekers must learn from trial and error and allowing those with more experience to sharpen their skills. “At last, a book aimed at helping college faculty learn the ins and outs of obtaining grant funding. Today more than ever, faculty at all types and level of schools want and need to pursue grant money to support their research efforts; and now they have useful tool to help them get started.” —Craig P. Donovan, Kean University “Insightful, innovative, and informative! A ‘must-read’ for the novice grant writer who is looking to gain some behind-the-scenes experience. I thoroughly enjoyed this text.” —Armen Shaomian, University of South Carolina “It is good, solid information, written in an understandable language. I like its honesty and straightforwardness. The author clearly knows the material and has information critical to the process of successful grant proposal writing.” —Sandra Yudilevich Espinoza, Salem State University “The inclusion of text about working with university-sponsored research and university relations is great. This is an important topic that, to my knowledge, has not been addressed in other grant writing books.” —Karen A. Randolph, Florida State University “The examples, boxes, and glossaries in the proposal are excellent and provide a ‘real-life’ look at the concepts being presented.” —Carol E. Gettings, State University of NY College at Buffalo
The OMRI Annual Survey of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: 1996
by J. F. BrownThe premier source for a comprehensive update and overview of developments in the most rapidly changing region in the world.Each edition features thematic coverage of regional, political, and economic developments.Chapters on every country of the region cover essential historical background as well as current developments and domestic and foreign policy issues.Supplementing the chapters are maps, data boxes, documents, and sidebars.
The Oak Papers
by James Canton"A profound meditation on the human need for connection with nature, as one man seeks solace beneath the bows of an ancient oak tree."—Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees"James Canton knows so much, writes so well and understands so deeply about the true forest magic and the important place these trees have in it. Knowledge and joy."— Sara Maitland, author of How to Be AloneJoining the ranks of The Hidden Life of Trees and H is for Hawk, an evocative memoir and ode to one of the most majestic living things on earth—the oak tree—probing the mysteries of nature and the healing role it plays in our lives.Thrown into turmoil by the end of his long-term relationship, Professor James Canton spent two years meditating [PA1]beneath the welcoming shelter of the massive 800-year-old Honywood Oak tree in North Essex, England. While considering the direction of his own life, he began to contemplate the existence of this colossus tree. Standing in England for centuries, the oak would have been a sapling when the Magna Carta was signed in 1215.In this beautiful, transportive book, Canton tells the story of this tree in its ecological, spiritual, literary, and historical contexts, using it as a prism to see his own life and human history. The Oak Papers is a reflection on change and transformation, and the role nature has played in sustaining and redeeming us. Canton examines our long-standing dependency on the oak, and how that has developed and morphed into myth and legend. We no longer need these sturdy trees to build our houses and boats, to fuel our fires, or to grind their acorns into flour in times of famine. What purpose, then, do they serve in our world today? Are these miracles of nature no longer necessary to our lives? What can they offer us? Taking inspiration from the literary world—Henry David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, Katherine Basford’s Green Man, Thomas Hardy, William Shakespeare, and others—Canton ponders the wondrous magic of nature and the threats its faces, from human development to climate change, implores us to act as responsible stewards to conserve what is precious, and reminds us of the lessons we can learn from the world around us, if only we slow down enough to listen.
The Oaken Heart: The Story of an English Village at War
by Margery AllinghamWorld War II on the home front: &“Fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society or James Herriot will enjoy this unique historical account.&” —Library Journal This remarkable firsthand account—from the acclaimed Golden Age mystery author—was written to let people know how the Second World War affected ordinary English country people. The Oaken Heart is Margery Allingham&’s tribute to the resiliency and determination of the people of Tolleshunt D&’Arcy, the Essex village where she lived and nicknamed &“Auburn&” in her manuscript. Allingham, already a successful mystery author in 1939, was at work on the Albert Campion novel Traitor&’s Purse. The first hint of war was felt in the alarm of a radio announcer&’s voice, and Allingham put down her pen as her peaceful corner of the world braced for sending its men into battle, and even possible invasion. As villagers rallied around the cause—supporting each other and their country—Allingham found herself acting as the local billeting officer and first aid organizer. She writes of the sacrifices of farmers, the mistrust of politics, the grim acceptance of rationing, the bombing of London. And through it all, the never-ending hope for peace. The Oaken Heart captures the personal and universal toll of war, far from the front lines, written by a woman whose own quest for justice jumped from the page to the streets where she lived. &“Engrossing and moving.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“Her record of the events and people of this fraught wartime period is rendered with the skill found in the best of her fictional writing . . . remains an insight into another facet of a remarkable talent.&” —Crime Time
The Oau After Twenty Years
by Amadu Sesay Olusola Ojo Orobola FasehunThis book investigates the performance of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) since its inception, focusing on four areas of central concern to African states: decolonization, conflict control, development, and human rights. The authors examine the OAU's record against the challenge of apartheid and the OAU's lack of resources and effective sanctions. They make a number of suggestions for enhancing the OAU's future viability and its ability to address the continent's pressing economic and social needs.
The Obama Effect: How the 2008 Campaign Changed White Racial Attitudes
by Diana C. Mutz Seth K. GoldmanBarack Obama’s historic 2008 campaign exposed many white Americans more than ever before to a black individual who defied negative stereotypes. While Obama’s politics divided voters, Americans uniformly perceived Obama as highly successful, intelligent, and charismatic. What effect, if any, did the innumerable images of Obama and his family have on racial attitudes among whites? In The Obama Effect, Seth K. Goldman and Diana C. Mutz uncover persuasive evidence that white racial prejudice toward blacks significantly declined during the Obama campaign. Their innovative research rigorously examines how racial attitudes form, and whether they can be changed for the better. The Obama Effect draws from a survey of 20,000 people, whom the authors interviewed up to five times over the course of a year. This panel survey sets the volume apart from most research on racial attitudes. From the summer of 2008 through Obama’s inauguration in 2009, there was a gradual but clear trend toward lower levels of white prejudice against blacks. Goldman and Mutz argue that these changes occurred largely without people’s conscious awareness. Instead, as Obama became increasingly prominent in the media, he emerged as an “exemplar” that countered negative stereotypes in the minds of white Americans. Unfortunately, this change in attitudes did not last. By 2010, racial prejudice among whites had largely returned to pre-2008 levels. Mutz and Goldman argue that news coverage of Obama declined substantially after his election, allowing other, more negative images of African Americans to re-emerge in the media. The Obama Effect arrives at two key conclusions: Racial attitudes can change even within relatively short periods of time, and how African Americans are portrayed in the mass media affects how they change. While Obama’s election did not usher in a “post-racial America,” The Obama Effect provides hopeful evidence that racial attitudes can—and, for a time, did—improve during Obama’s campaign. Engaging and thorough, this volume offers a new understanding of the relationship between the mass media and racial attitudes in America.
The Obama Effect: Multidisciplinary Renderings of the 2008 Campaign
by Catherine R. Squires Heather E. Harris Kimberly R. MoffittNovember 4, 2008 ushered in a historic moment: Illinois Senator Barack Obama was elected the forty-fourth President of the United States of America. In The Obama Effect, editors Heather E. Harris, Kimberly R. Moffitt, and Catherine R. Squires bring together works that place Barack Obama's candidacy and victory in the context of the American experience with race and the media. Following Obama's victory, optimists claimed that the campaign signaled the arrival of an era of postracism and postfeminism in the United States. This collection of essays, all presented at a national conference to discuss the meaning and impact of the nomination of the first presidential candidate of African descent, remind the reader that reaching a point in U.S. history where a biracial man could be deemed "electable" is part of a still-ongoing struggle. It resists the temptation to dismiss the uncertainty, hope, and fear that characterized the events and discourse of the two-year primary and general election cycle and brings together multidisciplinary approaches to assessing "the Obama effect" on public discourse and participation. This volume provides readers with a means for recalling and mapping out the enduring issues that erupted during the campaign—issues that will continue to shape how our society views itself and President Obama in the coming years.
The Obama Phenomenon: Toward a Multiracial Democracy
by Robert Allen Charles P. Henry Robert ChrismanBarack Obama's campaign and electoral victory demonstrated the dynamic nature of American democracy. Beginning as a special issue of The Black Scholar, this probing collection illustrates the impact of "the Obama phenomenon" on the future of U.S. race relations through readings on Barack Obama's campaign as well as the idealism and pragmatism of the Obama administration. Some of the foremost scholars of African American politics and culture from an array of disciplines--including political science, theology, economics, history, journalism, sociology, cultural studies, and law--offer critical analyses of topics as diverse as Obama and the media, Obama's connection with the hip hop community, the public's perception of first lady Michelle Obama, voter behavior, and the history of racial issues in presidential campaigns since the 1960s. Contributors are Josephine A. V. Allen, Robert L. Allen, Herb Boyd, Donald R. Deskins Jr., Cheryl I. Harris, Charles P. Henry, Dwight N. Hopkins, John L. Jackson, Maulana Karenga, Robin D. G. Kelley, Martin Kilson, Clarence Lusane, Julianne Malveaux, Shaun Ossei-Owusu, Dianne M. Pinderhughes, Sherman C. Puckett, Scharn Robinson, Ula Y. Taylor, Alice Walker, Hanes Walton Jr., and Ronald Williams II.
The Obamas And Mass Media
by Mia Moody-Ramirez Jannette L. DatesUsing the cultural prism of race, this book critically examines the image of African Americans in media of the twenty-first century. Further, the authors assess the ways in which media focused on gender, religion, and politics in framing perceptions of the President and First Lady of the United States during the Obama administration.
The Obesity Epidemic: Science, Morality and Ideology
by Jan Wright Michael GardIncreasing obesity levels are currently big news but do we think carefully enough about what this trend actually means? Everybody – including doctors, parents, teachers, sports clubs, businesses and governments – has a role to play in the ‘war on obesity’. But is talk of an obesity ‘crisis’ justified? Is it the product of measured scientific reasoning or age-old ‘habits of mind’? Why is it happening now? And are there potential risks associated with talking about obesity as an ‘epidemic’? The Obesity Epidemic proposes that obesity science and the popular media present a complex mix of ambiguous knowledge, familiar (yet unstated) moral agendas and ideological assumptions.
The Obesity Myth
by Paul CamposIs your weight hazardous to your health? According to public-health authorities, 65 percent of us are overweight. Every day, we are bombarded with dire warnings about America's "obesity epidemic." Close to half of the adult population is dieting, obsessed with achieving an arbitrary "ideal weight." Yet studies show that a moderately active larger person is likely to be far healthier (and to live longer) than someone who is thin but sedentary. And contrary to what the fifty-billion-dollar-per-year weight-loss industry would have us believe medical science has not yet come up with a way to make people thin. After years spent scrutinizing medical studies and interviewing leading doctors, scientists, eating- disorder specialists, and psychiatrists, Professor Paul Campos is here to lead the backlash against weight hysteria--and to show that we can safeguard our health without obsessing about the numbers on the scale. But The Obesity Myth is not just a compelling argument, grounded in the latest scientific research; it's also a provocative, wry exposé of the culture that feeds on our self-defeating war on fat. Campos will show: How the nation's most prestigious and trusted media sources consistently misinform the public about obesity What the movie industry's love affair with the "fat suit" tells us about the relationship between racial- and body-based prejudice in America How the skinny elite--with their "supersized" lifestyles and gas-guzzling SUVs--project their anxieties about overconsumption on the poorer and heavier underclass How weight-loss mania fueled the impeachment of Bill Clinton In this paradigm-busting read, Professor Campos challenges the conventional wisdom regarding the medical, political, and cultural meaning of weight and brings a rational and compelling new voice to America's increasingly irrational weight debate.
The Obituary as Collective Memory (Routledge Advances in Sociology)
by Bridget FowlerThe first serious academic study of obituaries, this book focuses on how societies remember. Bridget Fowler makes great use of the theories of Pierre Bordieu, arguing that obituaries are one important component in society's collective memory. This book, the first of its kind, will find a place on every serious sociology scholar's bookshelves.
The Object of Conservation: An Ethnography of Heritage Practice
by Thomas Yarrow Siân JonesThe Object of Conservation examines how historic buildings, monuments and artefacts are cared for as valued embodiments of the past. It tells the fascinating story of the working lives of those involved in conservation through an ethnographic account of a national heritage agency. How are conservation objects made? What is the moral purpose of that making and what practical consequences flow from this? Revealing the hidden labour of keeping things as they are, the book highlights the ethical commitments and dilemmas involved in trying to care well. In doing so, it reveals how conservation objects are made literally to matter. Taking debates in the interdisciplinary field of heritage studies forward in important new directions, the book engages with themes of broader interest within the arts, humanities and social sciences, shedding new light on time, authenticity, modernity, materiality, expert knowledge and the politics of care. The Object of Conservation is a thought-provoking and engaging account that offers original insights for students, scholars, heritage professionals and others interested in the work of caring for the past.
The Objective Society (Routledge Revivals)
by Everett KnightFirst published in 1959, The Objective Society elaborates that any objective society has two functions: to transmit a cultural heritage through education, and to think for that great majority of men who have no access to the stores of information upon which thought must feed if it is to live. However, it has long ceased to do either of these things. The masses of the people are indifferent to culture as it is understood in the universities, and academics do not think – they gather and catalogue facts. Any attempt to use the facts to some practical end or, more generally, to organize them into an ideology which might restore to our civilisation a purpose and a direction is considered an offence to objectivity. This book indicates the path that must be taken to avoid complete cultural stagnation. Explicating on themes resonant with the current socio-political climate, this book will be an interesting read for students of philosophy and literature.
The Objects That Remain (Dimyonot)
by Laura LevittOn a November evening in 1989, Laura Levitt was raped in her own bed. Her landlord heard the assault taking place and called 911, but the police arrived too late to apprehend Laura’s attacker. When they left, investigators took items with them—a pair of sweatpants, the bedclothes—and a rape exam was performed at the hospital. However, this evidence was never processed.Decades later, Laura returns to these objects, viewing them not as clues that will lead to the identification of her assailant but rather as a means of engaging traumatic legacies writ large. The Objects That Remain is equal parts personal memoir and fascinating examination of the ways in which the material remains of violent crimes inform our experience of, and thinking about, trauma and loss. Considering artifacts in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and evidence in police storage facilities across the country, Laura’s story moves between intimate trauma, the story of an unsolved rape, and genocide. Throughout, she asks what it might mean to do justice to these violent pasts outside the juridical system or through historical empiricism, which are the dominant ways in which we think about evidence from violent crimes and other highly traumatic events.Over the course of her investigation, the author reveals how these objects that remain and the stories that surround them enable forms of intimacy. In this way, she models for us a different kind of reckoning, where justice is an animating process of telling and holding.
The Objects That Remain (Dimyonot: Jews and the Cultural Imagination #11)
by Laura LevittOn a November evening in 1989, Laura Levitt was raped in her own bed. Her landlord heard the assault taking place and called 911, but the police arrived too late to apprehend Laura’s attacker. When they left, investigators took items with them—a pair of sweatpants, the bedclothes—and a rape exam was performed at the hospital. However, this evidence was never processed.Decades later, Laura returns to these objects, viewing them not as clues that will lead to the identification of her assailant but rather as a means of engaging traumatic legacies writ large. The Objects That Remain is equal parts personal memoir and fascinating examination of the ways in which the material remains of violent crimes inform our experience of, and thinking about, trauma and loss. Considering artifacts in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and evidence in police storage facilities across the country, Laura’s story moves between intimate trauma, the story of an unsolved rape, and genocide. Throughout, she asks what it might mean to do justice to these violent pasts outside the juridical system or through historical empiricism, which are the dominant ways in which we think about evidence from violent crimes and other highly traumatic events.Over the course of her investigation, the author reveals how these objects that remain and the stories that surround them enable forms of intimacy. In this way, she models for us a different kind of reckoning, where justice is an animating process of telling and holding.
The Objects and Textures of Everyday Life in Imperial Britain
by Deirdre H. McMahon Janet C. MyersFocusing on everyday life in nineteenth-century Britain and its imperial possessions”from preparing tea to cleaning the kitchen, from packing for imperial adventures to arranging home décor”the essays in this collection share a common focus on materiality, the nitty-gritty elements that helped give shape and meaning to British self-definition during the period. Each essay demonstrates how preoccupations with common household goods and habits fueled contemporary debates about cultural institutions ranging from personal matters of marriage and family to more overtly political issues of empire building. While existing scholarship on material culture in the nineteenth century has centered on artifacts in museums and galleries, this collection brings together disparate fields”history of design, landscape history, childhood studies, and feminist and postcolonial literary studies”to focus on ordinary objects and practices, with specific attention to how Britons of all classes established the tenets of domesticity as central to individual happiness, national security, and imperial hegemony.
The Objects of Affection
by Arthur Asa BergerIn this book, pre-eminent semiotician Arthur Asa Berger decodes the meanings of common objects of consumption and their perceived 'sacredness' in consumerist cultures. Using semiotic theory, consumer culture is dissected in new and fascinating ways.
The Objects of Affection: Semiotics and Consumer Culture (Semiotics and Popular Culture)
by A. BergerIn this book, pre-eminent semiotician Arthur Asa Berger decodes the meanings of common objects of consumption and their perceived 'sacredness' in consumerist cultures. Using semiotic theory, consumer culture is dissected in new and fascinating ways.
The Objects of Experience: Transforming Visitor-Object Encounters in Museums
by Elizabeth Wood Kiersten F LathamWhat if museums could harness the emotional and intellectual connections people have to personal and everyday objects to create richer visitor experiences? In this book, Elizabeth Wood and Kiersten Latham present the Object Knowledge Framework, a tool for using objects to connect museum visitors to themselves, to others, and to their world. They discuss the key concepts underpinning our lived experience of objects and how museums can learn from them. Then they walk readers through concrete methods for transforming visitor-object experiences, including exercises and strategies for teams developing exhibit themes, messages, and content, and participatory experiences.
The Obligation Mosaic: Race and Social Norms in US Political Participation (Chicago Studies in American Politics)
by Allison P. AnollPolitical participation is a costly activity with little clear payoff. And yet, millions of Americans vote, many donate their time and money to campaigns, and even more spend time becoming informed on issues they will have almost no influence over. Even more puzzling, some racial groups, like African Americans, whose members are least obviously able to bear the costs of participation are more likely to engage than other resource-rich groups, like Asian Americans. What explains this? To answer this question, Allison P. Anoll draws on a rich mix of interviews, surveys, and experiments with the four largest racial groups in America to look at the power of social norms in a community, specifically a civic duty norm, as an explanation for the variation in political participation across different racial and ethnic communities. Beliefs about how best to honor the past and help those in need centrally define concepts of obligation, Anoll finds, but whether these feelings of duty connect to politics depends on each group’s distinct history and continued patterns of racial segregation. Her findings offer a thought-provoking explanation for why some people participate in politics and others do not, while also providing a window into opportunities for change, pointing to how traditionally marginalized groups can be mobilized into the political sphere.
The Obligation Mosaic: Race and Social Norms in US Political Participation (Chicago Studies in American Politics)
by Allison P. AnollPolitical participation is a costly activity with little clear payoff. And yet, millions of Americans vote, many donate their time and money to campaigns, and even more spend time becoming informed on issues they will have almost no influence over. Even more puzzling, some racial groups, like African Americans, whose members are least obviously able to bear the costs of participation are more likely to engage than other resource-rich groups, like Asian Americans. What explains this? To answer this question, Allison P. Anoll draws on a rich mix of interviews, surveys, and experiments with the four largest racial groups in America to look at the power of social norms in a community, specifically a civic duty norm, as an explanation for the variation in political participation across different racial and ethnic communities. Beliefs about how best to honor the past and help those in need centrally define concepts of obligation, Anoll finds, but whether these feelings of duty connect to politics depends on each group’s distinct history and continued patterns of racial segregation. Her findings offer a thought-provoking explanation for why some people participate in politics and others do not, while also providing a window into opportunities for change, pointing to how traditionally marginalized groups can be mobilized into the political sphere.
The Obligation Mosaic: Race and Social Norms in US Political Participation (Chicago Studies in American Politics)
by Allison P. AnollPolitical participation is a costly activity with little clear payoff. And yet, millions of Americans vote, many donate their time and money to campaigns, and even more spend time becoming informed on issues they will have almost no influence over. Even more puzzling, some racial groups, like African Americans, whose members are least obviously able to bear the costs of participation are more likely to engage than other resource-rich groups, like Asian Americans. What explains this? To answer this question, Allison P. Anoll draws on a rich mix of interviews, surveys, and experiments with the four largest racial groups in America to look at the power of social norms in a community, specifically a civic duty norm, as an explanation for the variation in political participation across different racial and ethnic communities. Beliefs about how best to honor the past and help those in need centrally define concepts of obligation, Anoll finds, but whether these feelings of duty connect to politics depends on each group’s distinct history and continued patterns of racial segregation. Her findings offer a thought-provoking explanation for why some people participate in politics and others do not, while also providing a window into opportunities for change, pointing to how traditionally marginalized groups can be mobilized into the political sphere.
The Observable Universe: An Investigation
by Heather McCaldenIs anyone ever truly lost in the internet age? A moving, original memoir of a young woman reckoning with her parents&’ absence, the virus that took them, and what it means to search for meaning in a hyperconnected world.&“Brilliantly innovative . . . syncing a narrative of profoundly personal emotion with the invention and evolution of today&’s cyberspace.&”—William Gibson, author of Neuromancer and The PeripheralIn the early 1990s, Heather McCalden lost both her parents to AIDS. She was seven when her father died, ten when she lost her mother. Raised by her grandmother, Nivia, she grew up in Los Angeles, also known as ground zero for the virus and its destruction.Years later, she begins researching online the history of HIV as a way to deal with her loss, which leads her to the unexpected realization that the AIDS crisis and the internet developed on parallel timelines. By accumulating whatever fragments she could about both phenomena—images, anecdotes, and scientific entries—alongside her own personal history, McCalden forms a synaptic journey of what happened to her family, one that leads to an equally unexpected discovery about who her parents might have been.Entwining this personal search with a wider cultural narrative of what the virus and virality mean in our times—interrogating what it means to &“go viral&” in an era of explosive biochemical and virtual contagion—The Observable Universe is at once a history of our viral culture and a prismatic account of grief in the internet age.