Since joining CSSM (the Centre for the Social Study of Microbes), I have encountered all kinds of folks who are “microbially curious” but don’t know where to begin. And some might even say that the stuff coming out of CSSM (or in the works) is already for those already infected—pun intended. So what about scholars at square one? This resource is for you.

The unparalleled Astrid Schrader has an excellent book chapter that gives a great overview of what microbes are and how microbes add nuance to longstanding debates in human–animal relations, gender studies, and notions of labour. If I was ever tasked with teaching an undergrad course on the social study of microbes, I’d assign this.

Myra Hird has a succinct powerhouse of an article in Environment and Planning D, which explains why microbes (specifically bacteria) matter as objects of study. For those in the discipline of sociology, here’s commentary that deliberately uses bacteria as an apt case for studying naturecultures in tandem. While she’s better known for Origins of Sociable Life, I find these two brief texts to be great starting points for understanding why microbes and why now.

Of course, tons of popular literature can give soft context. For breadth—and stellar writing—I’d suggest Ed Yong’s I Contain Multitudes. For wonder, I’d recommend Symbiotic Planet by Lynn Margulis or Microcosm which was written with her son Dorion Sagan. For a deep dive, see Carl Zimmer’s book on E.coli. For kiddles, look for Elise Gravel’s Club Microbe or, for older kids, Justine Dees’ Joyful Microbiology Activities ebook—both are also great to reflect on as an adult, in terms of narratives, discourses, and pedagogies. I know there’s more recent stuff out there, and even more on pandemics and plagues, but these are the ones that I hold tried and true as I lend them out to pals who come back and give me the knowing nod. These books are accessible, a delight even. I stand by them.

My fearless collaborator Anna Sigrithur and I have a book chapter coming out soon in an anthology of feminist philosophy and practice-based knowing. In it, we write about fermentation and compost in simple terms, tying both to key debates in feminist/decolonial thought. Anna is also a co-convenor of fff|food feminisms fermentation with Tiff Mak and I, and the three of us are spending the next handful of years developing teaching resources and workbooks on the topic of microbial time. Stay tuned.

I’ll update this post with theoretical/methodological starting points once we (at CSSM) have our in-progress articles published. More soon~