Prevention som grund för samhället : Smittan och dess efterdyningar i dystopin Bärarna
(2025) In Socialmedicinsk tidskrift- Abstract
- By analysing Jessica Schiefauer’s speculative novel Bärarna (2020), this article examines the potential consequences of making disease prevention the cornerstone for an entire society. The novel is set in a future where a rabies-like disease has nearly wiped out humanity. In this dystopian setting, men, as carriers of the disease, are separated from women to prevent the resurgence of the illness.
The article investigates how the novel illuminates the problems and dangers that emerge when disease prevention becomes a central societal ideal. It discusses how the speculative fiction genre enables Schiefauer to create a thought experiment in which prevention is taken to its extreme, thereby exploring a society characterised by a mix of... (More) - By analysing Jessica Schiefauer’s speculative novel Bärarna (2020), this article examines the potential consequences of making disease prevention the cornerstone for an entire society. The novel is set in a future where a rabies-like disease has nearly wiped out humanity. In this dystopian setting, men, as carriers of the disease, are separated from women to prevent the resurgence of the illness.
The article investigates how the novel illuminates the problems and dangers that emerge when disease prevention becomes a central societal ideal. It discusses how the speculative fiction genre enables Schiefauer to create a thought experiment in which prevention is taken to its extreme, thereby exploring a society characterised by a mix of utopian care for health and the environment and dystopian dehumanising of disease carriers, as well as the use of disease prevention as a tool of power. The article shows how the novel cautions against the ethical and social risks of building societies based on fear and exclusion, and underscores the importance of critically examining the role of disease prevention in social construction. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/45ea9d86-f09d-4fd9-bd5c-b58dbd530558
- author
- Bernhardsson, Katarina LU and Ekman, Stefan
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- in press
- in
- Socialmedicinsk tidskrift
- publisher
- Stiftelsen Socialmedicinsk tidskrift
- ISSN
- 0037-833X
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 45ea9d86-f09d-4fd9-bd5c-b58dbd530558
- date added to LUP
- 2025-01-16 20:25:20
- date last changed
- 2025-01-20 10:58:52
@article{45ea9d86-f09d-4fd9-bd5c-b58dbd530558,
abstract = {{By analysing Jessica Schiefauer’s speculative novel Bärarna (2020), this article examines the potential consequences of making disease prevention the cornerstone for an entire society. The novel is set in a future where a rabies-like disease has nearly wiped out humanity. In this dystopian setting, men, as carriers of the disease, are separated from women to prevent the resurgence of the illness.<br/>The article investigates how the novel illuminates the problems and dangers that emerge when disease prevention becomes a central societal ideal. It discusses how the speculative fiction genre enables Schiefauer to create a thought experiment in which prevention is taken to its extreme, thereby exploring a society characterised by a mix of utopian care for health and the environment and dystopian dehumanising of disease carriers, as well as the use of disease prevention as a tool of power. The article shows how the novel cautions against the ethical and social risks of building societies based on fear and exclusion, and underscores the importance of critically examining the role of disease prevention in social construction.}},
author = {{Bernhardsson, Katarina and Ekman, Stefan}},
issn = {{0037-833X}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{Stiftelsen Socialmedicinsk tidskrift}},
series = {{Socialmedicinsk tidskrift}},
title = {{Prevention som grund för samhället : Smittan och dess efterdyningar i dystopin Bärarna}},
year = {{2025}},
}