On Immunity: An Inoculation
But the immunization that seeks to protect the body (and mind) of each citizen is an important reality. The forms of aversion multiply, the phobia toward contact spreads, and retreating into oneself becomes a spontaneous act. Indeed, it is precisely in this latter movement that we should make out the tendency of the citizen who distances himself fr
... See moreDonatella Di Cesare und David Broder • Immunodemocracy
our bodies may feel autonomous, but we all live in the nexus of radical interconnection. Our bodies are always in communication with other bodies: our immune system is responsive not only to collective health policies but also to the emotions and affects of others. The immune-dysregulated body, therefore, is an embodiment of our porousness to one a
... See moreMeghan O'Rourke • The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness
the COVID-19 pandemic has given us a keen sense of how variable the human response to infection can be, vividly dramatizing the ways that a virus or bacterium (or multiple viruses and bacteria) can collide with an individual’s biology to unleash a host of perplexing aftereffects in the body, often incited by the individual’s immune system. The scop
... See moreMeghan O'Rourke • The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness
Even though we have no immunity against CoV-2, we have developed a resistance to anything that has the potential to unsettle our lives: the unknown, the disconcerting, the new and scary.