Centre for the Social Study of Microbes
CSSM is a Wellcome Trust center based in the University of Helsinki that serves as a hub for social scientists and artists conducting research on human-microbial relations. socialmicrobes.org
- The CSSM is excited to share panels convened by our members in the upcoming EASST 2026 conference in Kraków, September 8-11. See the post linked below for more details on CSSM members' panels, and don't hesitate to contact us if any questions arise! 📆The call for papers is open until February 28.
- 📢CALL FOR PROPOSALS: CSSM Conference 2026 We are excited to invite submissions for the CSSM conference, taking place in Helsinki, Finland, 19-22 October 2026 as an in-person gathering! 📅Submission deadline: 30 Jan 2026 🦠More information on the conference website: blogs.helsinki.fi/cssm-confere...
- 📢CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: CSSM Visiting Fellowships for May 2026. The CSSM is looking for three fellows at any career stage for the month of May 2026! 📅Application deadline: 8 January 2026 🦠For more details, please visit our website: www.socialmicrobes.org/current/call...
- SAVE THE DATE! The CSSM is organizing a conference in 2026 to celebrate its first 5 years of life. More info coming soon through this channel, our website socialmicrobes.org and our mailing list. Looking forward to welcoming you all in Helsinki!
- One of the CSSM projects is looking for a postdoc 📣! Find more information in the link.
- Looking for a #postdoc in Aquatic #STS! MARBLOOM analyses algal blooms from a social scientific perspective with emphasis on the changing relationship between humans and the environment. Position for 3+ years. Deadline 14.08.25. Link to #opencall: tinyurl.com/49wn7vzh
- 📢 CALL FOR ENTRIES TO A NEW LEXICON: Wording and worlding with microbes – A lexicon for the microbial social 📅 Register for descriptive entries by 23 June 2025 🔎 For more information, please visit our website: www.socialmicrobes.org/current/call...
- 📢CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: The CSSM now welcomes applications for The CSSM PhD School, held in Helsinki, 4-6 June 2025. 📅Deadline: 7 March 2025 🦠For more details, please visit our website: www.socialmicrobes.org/current/call...
- 📣CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: CSSM grant for seminar exploring human-microbial relations! 📅DL: 28 February 2025 🦠For more details please visit our website: www.socialmicrobes.org/current/call...
- ✨The outcomes of the foundational Microbial Lives project were celebrated among the CSSM members and network in a wonderful Final Symposium! A big thank you to @koneensaatio.fi for supporting our work on the ever more interesting human-microbe relations for the past six years!
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View full threadA warm thank you to the keynote speakers Ana Delgado and Aaron Bradshaw for sharing their latest research and engaging in fascinating discussions with us!👏
- The documentary film Walking with Fermenters - A Story of Rice Beer by Kazu Ahmed, Salla Sariola and Meri Teperi also saw its premiere and inspired a conversation on human-microbe relations in fermentation practices and ethics of ethnographic filmmaking.🎥
- Researchers and artists @joseacanada.bsky.social, Faidon Papadakis, Viljami Kankaanpää-Kukkonen, Aga Pokrywka, Tiia Sudenkaarne, Tiina Vaittinen, Riina Hannula, Salla Sariola and Oona Virtanen from the project presented their inspiring work and visions for the future of the social study of microbes.
- 📢Attention all artists! OPEN CALL for the CSSM Artist-in-Residence 2025 is open until this Sunday! We look forward to your applications! ⏰DL: 1st December 2024 🦠Check out the details on our website: www.socialmicrobes.org/current/open...
- OPEN CALL for CSSM fellowships in spring 2025! We are looking for three scholars, currently at any career stage, to join us in Helsinki for 1-3 months. 🗓️DL: 5th December 2024 🔬Check out the details on our website: www.socialmicrobes.org/current/call...
- OPEN CALL for the CSSM Artist-in-Residence 2025! Join us to create new ways of knowing microbes! 🗓️DL: 1st December 2024 🦠Check out the details on our website: www.socialmicrobes.org/current/open...
- CSSM PhD School 2024 kicks off with an introductory talk by Salla Sariola! We are thrilled to welcome 15 doctoral researchers in Helsinki and look forward to learning with and from the next generation of microbial scholars in the coming three days.
- Curious about microbes and senses? Sign up for CSSM Sensory Week on 27–31 May! We are hosting activities that engage with microbes through the senses, including sound, smell, taste, vision & touch. In-person participation only (in Helsinki), registration closes on 22 May. forms.gle/DsgKL2uF2hPL...
- “I think about the temporal justifications in most of these toxicants and how our human penchant for short-term capital-gain should have us be called Homo myopiens.” @heymayahey.bsky.social reviews “Toxic Transits” at Hagströmer Library, open until May 8! www.socialmicrobes.org/current/revi...
- "In the still sharpness of the pictures, I get a feeling of an undercurrent and loud noise. Is this the microbial?" Read our latest blog post to find out how Faidon Papadakis, a doctoral researcher at the CSSM, searches for the microbial in the garden. #STS www.socialmicrobes.org/current/what...
- We are thrilled to announce that Alma Heikkilä is the new artist-in-residence at the CSSM! By working with painting, installation and sculpture, Alma makes space and time for wondering and digesting scientific accounts that challenge familiar ways of thinking. www.socialmicrobes.org/current/alma...
- Do you want to develop your PhD research and explore microbial questions with inspiring researchers in summery Helsinki? Apply to the CSSM PhD School in June! Applications open until 31 March. #STS #FeministSky #histsci #sociology www.socialmicrobes.org/current/call...
- Applications are now open for the CSSM PhD School 2024! Join us in Helsinki this June to develop your research in a supportive atmosphere and get mentoring from CSSM researchers. 📍 Helsinki, June 12–14, 2024 🗓️ Application deadline: March 31, 2024 www.socialmicrobes.org/current/call...
- We now have a newsletter! Read to find out about upcoming events, calls for papers & new publications pushing forward the social study of microbes. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive all future newsletters: forms.gle/VEbC3Z1uW3kU...
- Visiting fellow Antonia Modelhart reflects on her experiences at the CSSM: "My world became bigger in turning more seriously, with widened eyes, sensitized hands, and sharpened senses to the very small ones ..." 🦠 www.socialmicrobes.org/current/in-s...
- Ferment Radio is now up on our website! 📻 Listen to this fascinating podcast by CSSM member Aga Pokrywka to learn more about the world of microbes with the guidance of artists, researchers, chefs, activists, and other microbial experts. www.socialmicrobes.org/ferment-radio/
- And our call for external seminars is also open until the 17th of December!
- OPEN CALL for CSSM fellowships in spring 2024! We are looking for three scholars from any career stage to join us in Helsinki for 1-3 months. Check out the details on our website: www.socialmicrobes.org/current/call... ⏰ Deadline: 5 January 2024
- CSSM is now on Bluesky! We are a research centre at the University of Helsinki, serving as a hub for researchers and artists working on relations between microbes, human and nonhuman animals, and environments. Follow our work here and on socialmicrobes.org