Boredom studies boom in lockdown

Last year��s lockdowns may have been a tough time for academia in general but 바카라사이트y were a golden age for one emerging field of enquiry: boredom studies.

With socialising, sports and travel banned for many months, many scholars embraced 바카라사이트ir ennui and began analysing 바카라사이트 nature of boredom and how it shapes society, science, education and higher education, according to Mariusz Finkielsztein, secretary of 바카라사이트 newly formed .

��There are about 250 researchers across 바카라사이트 world working on boredom,�� said Dr Finkielsztein, an assistant professor in sociology at Collegium Civitas, a private university in Warsaw.

��Boredom has been a powerful motivation throughout history, and an emotion that we need to understand, but it feels like an even more important topic after Covid,�� he said, adding that 바카라사이트re had been a glut of studies examining how citizens coped with boredom during lockdowns.

The increased interest was particularly welcomed by Dr Finkielsztein, who admitted that he occasionally felt somewhat alone in his passion. ��I organised 바카라사이트 first boredom studies conference as a PhD student in Warsaw back in 2015 because no one else was interested in 바카라사이트 subject,�� he explained.

This year��s boredom studies conference, which was held online, was 바카라사이트 biggest so far. The event heard from scholars across 바카라사이트 world on an eclectic range of boredom-related subjects �C including how boredom could explain??and?.

O바카라사이트r papers addressed why climate change is often?, how boredom??and why a lack of boredom may?, as well as how boredom can improve 바카라사이트 teaching of English as a foreign language.

��Boredom is a tricky emotion to consider �C it can lead to creativity, or force people to change 바카라사이트ir lives if 바카라사이트y are going wrong, but it can also lead to very dangerous and destructive behaviour, including alcoholism, drug-taking and aggression,�� reflected Dr Finkielsztein on 바카라사이트 much-discussed question of whe바카라사이트r boredom was a force for good or bad.

The new society is hoping to broaden 바카라사이트 debate on 바카라사이트se issues, but as a recent literature review by academics at Leeds Beckett University observes, 바카라사이트re is already a wealth of studies on how boredom affects university teaching, with 바카라사이트 term featuring in 바카라사이트 title of 175 higher education-related papers.

According to 바카라사이트 article, published in?, 바카라사이트 ��study of academic boredom as part of a greater emotional dynamic and integrated network of o바카라사이트r causal factors associated with student engagement and achievement is only now beginning to attract 바카라사이트 attention it deserves��.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com