The Postantibiotic Era: Cultural perspectives on antibiotic resistance

This project takes the threat of a ”post-antibiotic era” as its departure for an analysis of what imagery that is used to convey a feeling of urgency. The notion of a post-antibiotic era signifies a coming period in the history of mankind where the old antibiotics don’t work anymore and where current strives for new medicine has failed. Antibiotic resistance, or antimicrobial resistance as it is termed internationally, is a growing challenge for health care and the costs in human life is counted to 700.000 annually. The Dark Ages are a recurrent trope in reports and documentaries to describe where the world is heading if measures aren’t taken to tackle misuse of antibiotics and antimicrobial agents on a global level. However, there is a risk that such apocalyptic accounts triggers individual and collective behaviours that are counterproductive in relation to the actual problem with resistance-drivers. Because our microbiota, in other words the microbial communities that live in our intestines and all over our bodies, is necessary for human well being. In addition, microbes exist all over the planet and are the origin of life as we known it, still, bacteria is represented as in conflict with human life. The project will present phenomenological, cultural theoretical, and media discourse analyses that shows how our perceived relation of bacteria as growing enemy connects to reactions of fear and defence.