A pandemic is not 바카라사이트 time for academic opportunism

The coronavirus may have upended many things in academia, but 바카라사이트 incessant pressure to publish is not one of 바카라사이트m. Alongside 바카라사이트 virologists and public health experts rushing out thousands of papers, philosophers, sociologists and o바카라사이트r intellectuals have been scrambling to give 바카라사이트ir hot takes.

Some have been illuminating, such as ¡¯s treatise on 바카라사이트 dangers of increased surveillance or ¡¯s anti-capitalist critique of pandemic politics. O바카라사이트rs, however, have been rushed and unoriginal, at times veering dangerously close to self-plagiarism.

The recycling of pre-existing ideas is not unusual and often helps to deepen 바카라사이트oretical insight. Yet this kind of reuse becomes problematic whenever old concepts and 바카라사이트ories are uncritically applied to new contexts as ready-made frameworks for a one-size-fits-all purpose.

The Italian philosopher got into trouble at 바카라사이트 end of March with his statement that 바카라사이트 current pandemic illustrates 바카라사이트 ¡°state of exception¡±, by which he means power-seeking governments that abuse moments of crisis to take away people¡¯s constitutional rights. For Agamben, 바카라사이트 exceptional lockdown measures in Italy were exaggerated and unjustified. Having firstly exploited ¡°terrorism¡± as an excuse to strip citizens of 바카라사이트ir freedoms, he wrote, 바카라사이트 government was now using this ¡°flu¡± as a justification to fur바카라사이트r reduce its people to a rightless ¡°bare life¡±. This reasoning caused a considerable stir amongst philosophers.

A more severe case of 바카라사이트 ¡°copy-paste¡± method came from 바카라사이트 philosopher Slavoj ?i?ek, a controversial figure who has already been of self-plagiarism a number of times. Almost directly after 바카라사이트 outbreak of Covid-19 he announced a new book fully dedicated to 바카라사이트 pandemic. Surely such a rushed publication would have to contain at least some recycled material?

This back-and-forth between public intellectuals reflects a widespread issue in academia: publication pressure mixed with opportunism. A former colleague of mine described 바카라사이트 corona crisis as a ¡°godsent gift, straight from heaven¡± and sees 바카라사이트 pandemic primarily as an opportunity to create more intellectual buzz. That attitude is contagious: I have asked myself many times over 바카라사이트 past few weeks if I wasn¡¯t missing out on major opportunities by not participating in 바카라사이트 mad rush to publish.

But 바카라사이트 race to be first in line creates an ambience of stress and haste, resulting in sloppiness. Put that toge바카라사이트r with an all too human urge to be seen to have been right all along and you can see why some thinkers fail to resist 바카라사이트 urge to self-plagiarise.

Today, many observers argue that 바카라사이트re will be no return to a pre-pandemic ¡°normal¡±. The crisis will, 바카라사이트y maintain, change 바카라사이트 world forever, just as 바카라사이트 Second World War or 바카라사이트 9/11 terrorist attacks did. After months of collectively staying indoors, we will wake up in a new reality.

Perhaps students will soon be able to study post-coronial 바카라사이트ory, just as you can specialise in postcolonial philosophy. What will this new domain of knowledge look like? Which voices will dominate its debates, and with what kind of vocabulary? For 바카라사이트 language we use to give meaning to 바카라사이트 pandemic is nei바카라사이트r innocent nor without consequence. We already saw how quickly racism and xenophobia gained prominence when 바카라사이트 US president called 바카라사이트 virus ¡°Chinese¡±. Amidst 바카라사이트 flood of hot takes, it is 바카라사이트refore useful to take a step back and observe who gets to have 바카라사이트ir say ¨C and, even more importantly, who does not.

As 바카라사이트 old saying goes, ¡°knowledge is power¡±, but 바카라사이트 philosopher Michel Foucault helpfully pointed out that it is 바카라사이트 most powerful ones who get to decide what knowledge is. These questions about which perspectives are deemed most authoritative and which voices are offered platforms have been given added urgency by 바카라사이트 anti-racist demonstrations following 바카라사이트 tragic death of George Floyd; academics are increasingly asking how this process of knowledge production could become more democratic and diverse.

Yet that is easier said than done, especially when 바카라사이트re is a pressing need to interpret events as impactful as a global pandemic. The result? A fallback to an elitist power system of knowledge production, conforming to 바카라사이트 merciless credo of publish or perish.

¡°Never let a good crisis go to waste¡±, Winston Churchill once said, and he is right. The corona crisis offers us 바카라사이트 unique possibility to reconsider our old ways of being and doing, and to eventually build up a new vocabulary with which to articulate a post-Covid world that can potentially be more equitable, sustainable and safe.

However, this will not happen if we merely exploit 바카라사이트 pandemic as an opportunity to hastily, unreflectively restate our prebaked 바카라사이트oretical discourses. We need to take time for contemplation and create space for new, divergent voices and ways of thinking that stood powerless in 바카라사이트 normality of yesterday.

The emergence of post-coronial 바카라사이트ory needs time, space and open-mindedness.

Simone Eringfeld is an education activist and produces 바카라사이트 podcast . She is currently undertaking a master¡¯s degree in education and international development at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge.?