Siobhán Watkins is an academically trained microbiologist, artist, essayist and poet, and the founder of Microanimism. Microanimism, first as a personal philosophical exploration of the author’s relationship with the Smalls, came into online existence in 2018, and Siv has been writing poems about phlegm ever since.
Siv has held professional positions in scientific industry, academic research and teaching since 2003. Her doctoral studies, which she completed in 2011, examined communities of bacteria in wastewater treatment systems. She has also conducted research in conservation microbiology, freshwater pollution and bioremediation, and viral diversity.
In 2016, Siv became a student of ritual technology. She is particularly drawn towards the edgier aspects of how the Smalls may offer a role in human esoteric/spiritual practices. She is interested in exploring how ancientness, difficulty and initiation act as interface between microbes and humans.
Originally from the UK and proudly working-class, Siv now lives in New Mexico where she teaches biology at a local community college. She believes in empowerment through science education as activism, and also likes helping horses with specialized needs for care, and tending to her elderly feline familiar.
"Siv has the fluency to navigate details and dimensions of life that aren’t being addressed elsewhere, with emotion and intellect intact, facts and unanswered questions, paved paths and tools to the unknown."
— Previous course participant