Coping with and resisting everyday inequalities in the UK
How much is a human life worth? Susan asked me at the bus stop. We had just taken each of our children to kindergarten, and were waiting for the bus to take us to our respective workplaces. Bianca and I decided to move back to Switzerland for Lele to attend Kindergarten in German, the language …
Continue reading "How much is a human life worth? Societal divides in a capitalist pandemic"
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"
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)"
The state is back. Since we moved to this little town in Southern Italy, it has become blatantly apparent that the old brutality of the state is still very much present, more than I, and academics in my field, realised. There are no reported Covid-19 cases here. Nor in the neighbouring towns. But police and …
Continue reading "The state is back: Chronicles from the Italian lockdown (Part 1)"
“Stay at home”, the government tells us. The message is everywhere: Spotify adverts, and messages on people’s homes, businesses’ windows, and Facebook walls. Every time I read it or hear it, there is a shooting of fear down to my stomach. As Carter, Green, and Speed point out, it is a difficult, and somewhat ironic, …
Continue reading "Home is where the front door is: Corona homemaking in the UK"
Disruptive Inequalities 