Coping with and resisting everyday inequalities in the UK
This post is written by Amal Latif, A PhD candidate in Social Anthropology based in India, researching gender and migration. "I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice. I don't want any greatness for it, particularly a greatness born of blood and falsehood. I want to keep it alive …
This post is written in collaboration with outdoor, travel, and landscape photographer Sam Knight who joined me for some of my walks and has provided all the photos for this blog. See his full website: http://www.samsknight.com. Like many others, when lockdown was first proposed, I was scared. I am one of those people who rent …
Continue reading "Living on the beautiful edge: Escape routes from the city"
This piece was anonymised and certain details were omitted to avoid negative repercussions on the careers of the authors. The summer after I defended my PhD and obtained a unanimous high distinction, I felt I was on top of the world. I was feeling a mix of excitement, wonder and a sense of being part …
Continue reading "Disillusions of an early career researcher in mass-produced academia"
We will go back to a new normality. One that allows us to move beyond capitalism. Dismantle colonial structures of oppression. And live in inclusive societies. During the first months of the global pandemic, the lockdown provoked utopias, dreams for radical change. Neoliberalism is over, announced a respected senior scholar at one of the many …
Continue reading "The dream is over – Chronicles from the Italian Lockdown"
This is a guest contribution from Yunpeng (Dery) Du, A PhD Candidate in Applied Linguistics, based at UCL Institute of Education, United Kingdom. Two weeks ago, an elder shouted hysterically at me when I was in Walthamstow Reservoirs, a small wetland sitting close to my accommodation in north London. “Go home!”, the shout created ripples …
Continue reading "Go home: Coronavirus, national protection, and the lost path towards home"
This is a guest contribution from Siobhán Healy-Cullen, A PhD Candidate in Psychology with a critical social psychology perspective, based at Massey University, New Zealand. I self-identify as a cisgender heterosexual female, and I am in a monogamous long term relationship. On account of this, my sexuality and sexual identity is deemed to be ‘healthy’ …
Continue reading "Challenging Marriage as a Sociopolitical Script"
This is a guest post from Gabriela Greenaway, an MA student in Applied Linguistics at UCL and co-editor of Rethinking Matters. Which box shall I tick? She asks. Sorry, what? The weary blue eyes of the midwife after a long shift look at me, then my baby, then my partner. Which box shall I tick? …
Continue reading "Which box to tick? A conversation with whiteness"
This is a guest contribution from Sibo Kanobana, a Phd Candidate in sociolinguistics, employability, and migration. “Your name is not on the list”, she said, “I can’t let you in”. She wasn’t unfriendly but made clear that I wasn’t supposed to be there, that I should leave. A few weeks ago I got an e-mail …
Continue reading "Who is not on the list? Navigating white academia"
I want to buy a car. I want my freedom back. Freeeee! The government has announced a softening of the lockdown. People can move now within their region. The radio clarifies that social distancing still needs to be maintained, it has become part of our ‘new normality’. Wear masks, keep distance, don’t hug, stand in …
Continue reading "Freedom, Oppression, Sacrifice: Chronicles from the Italian Lock Down (Part two)"
This blog was written in collaboration and conversation with a friend, who would prefer to remain anonymous. We will not tolerate any form of abuse… I started reading the sign in the waiting room of the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments. Back before the Covid-19 lockdown I was waiting with a friend for an …
Disruptive Inequalities 