Microbiomes as companion species
An Exploration of Dis- And Re-Entanglements With the Microbial Self
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3977818 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alice Beck (School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University road, Bristol, UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 357-375 |
| Publication date | 2021-03-24 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social & Cultural Geography (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1464-9365 • E-ISSN: 1470-1197 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14649365.2019.1593490 |
| OpenAlex | W2923634828 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 14 |
| References cited | 33 |
Research within the natural sciences is increasingly revealing the importance that microbial life has for human functioning. Referred to as the microbiome, the unique selection of microbial life that harbours inside the body affects human behaviours. This paper contrasts the more simplistic practices and imaginations associated with 'good' and 'bad' microbes with the more nuanced perspective offered by research with FMT users and explores what these sources say of a human microbe relationship. Through an engagement with Haraway's concept of companion species this paper first explores how a good/bad binary of microbial life is reproduced through cleaning, probiotic advertising and the technologies of antibiotics. It points to the consequent warping of the complexities of microbial life through such representations. It then engages with FMT users' experiences of FMT to develop Haraway's concept of embodied communication to corporeal communication, which describes a mode of relating between FMT users and their microbiomes. The paper then offers corporeal communication as an alternative conceptual tool that can be used by those that have not undergone FMT to better understand and appreciate the microbial self
Aesthetics · Art · Biology · Cognitive science · Embodied cognition · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Microbiome · Natural (archaeology · Perspective (graphical · Sociology · Visual arts · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Posthumanist Ethics and Activism · Psychology · Ecology
Anti-racism, racism, and the microbiome
Commodifying the microbial self
On the values of microbes
Can Microbes Be Active Participants in Research? Developing a Methodology for Collaborating with Plastic-Eating Microbes
The Gut Microbiome and the Imperative of Normalcy
Revitalizing Air
The invisible city
Healthy” food configurations
Faecal microbiota transplants
Race and indigeneity in human microbiome science
Relational health
Resetting urban human-microbial relations in pandemic times
Industrializing Bacterial Work
On the Contesting Conceptualisation of the Human Body
The Life of Cheese
A Symbiotic View of Life
The pasteurization of France
The Origins of Sociable Life
Balancing Food Risks and Food Benefits
Parasites, ghosts and mutualists
Reconstituting nature conservation
The perils and promises of microbial abundance
Meeting with the Microcosmos
Encounters with Companion Species
Between Species
Primate Visions
Gut Buddies
Where species meet and mingle
Probiotic Environmentalities
Post-Pasteurian Cultures
| Unique citing works | 14 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,8 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 14 |