The Many Faces of the Parasite

The introduction to this special issue describes the ‘parasite’ as a concept through which to understand the problems and possibilities of cohabitation, with its attendant strategies of shelter and expulsion, its affects of gratitude and resentment. Building on the work of Michel Serres, it then summarises how the contributors take up this idea across three themes: the intimacies of hospitality, urban networks of economy and information, and the shifting alliances of multispecies assemblages. Finally, it highlights the relevance of parasitic dynamics for understanding the contemporary moment writ large.