Online conference by Victoria Lee, science historian with a focus on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and an Associate Professor of history at Ohio University, and Paris IAS Fellow in residence in January 2026.

The "Paris IAS Ideas" online talk series features short and stimulating presentations from fellows of the Paris Institute for Advanced Study, marking the beginning of 1-month writing residencies.

Online and in English only.
Free registration but required.
Register via the form at the bottom of the page to receive the connection link.

Presentation

This project explores the idea of “charismatic microbes” and shows how our relationship with microbes has profoundly evolved. Long associated with disease and eradication campaigns, such as that against smallpox in the 1970s, microbes are now recognized as essential to agriculture, bioremediation, geoengineering, and the very functioning of the biosphere.

The study traces this transformation, from advances in agro-industrial biotechnology and environmental microbiology to the discovery of the microbiome, which has reinforced the idea that preserving microbial diversity is as crucial as preserving other forms of life.

Drawing on contributions from the social sciences and philosophy, the project proposes new ways of understanding our relationship with microbes and imagining conservation strategies that go beyond the logic of eradication or total control. It concludes with a summary document presenting avenues for reinventing our relationship with the microbial world from a sustainability perspective.