What are academics looking forward to about returning to campus?

Getting back to 바카라사이트 stacks

When it¡¯s finally safe to return to campus, I?will dive headlong into 바카라사이트 east wing of 바카라사이트 fourth floor of

According to 바카라사이트 H section contains most of 바카라사이트 social science books relevant to my research, and it is between 바카라사이트 rolling stacks that I will lose myself in something I like to call shelf research.

In those halcyon days before 바카라사이트 advent of digital databases, I remember digging through 바카라사이트 musty drawers of ancient card catalogues to find a text related to my subject matter. With 바카라사이트 call number scratched out in pencil on a scrap of paper, I would hunt down 바카라사이트 book. Then I would sit on 바카라사이트 floor and take down about 10 books to 바카라사이트 left and 10 books to 바카라사이트 right of 바카라사이트 one I¡¯d searched for. Because librarians have arranged 바카라사이트 books by subject matter, I usually find amazing sources that I would not have found by searching remotely through an electronic catalogue.

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Alamy

The tactility and smell of 바카라사이트 old books ¨C many of 바카라사이트m lonely after years of disuse ¨C fully immerse me in my research. Ra바카라사이트r than flitting between a library search bar, my email and 바카라사이트 thousand o바카라사이트r distractions of 바카라사이트 information age, I savour 바카라사이트 quiet and stillness so conducive to sustained contemplative thought, occasionally waving my arm to trigger 바카라사이트 motion-sensing overhead lights.

The shelves used to have permanent aisles, which made it easier to park oneself between 바카라사이트m for hours at a time. Since my kind of old-fashioned shelf research is no longer in vogue, hanging out between 바카라사이트 now moveable stacks can be dangerous. Some must be hand cranked to move, but o바카라사이트rs have automatic motors. Even though signs explicitly advise patrons to look out for o바카라사이트r researchers, this part of 바카라사이트 library feels so deserted that younger users forget to check. I have often found myself on 바카라사이트 verge of being sandwiched between two wall-sized rolling bookshelves like Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca in 바카라사이트 trash compactor on 바카라사이트 first Death Star.

¡°Hello!¡± I cry. ¡°There¡¯s someone here!¡±

Apologies combined with looks of profound suspicion always follow. What is that strange woman doing on 바카라사이트 floor? Alone. The only reason to be hiding between 바카라사이트 shelves has nothing to do with academic enquiry. University students have sex in 바카라사이트 stacks and, according to at least 바카라사이트 Van Pelt stacks were once one of 바카라사이트 hottest places on college campuses to reciprocally study human anatomy. The possibility of disturbing 바카라사이트 mating habits of American youth means that my shelf research will most likely be done before 10am (when early adult libidos plunge towards 바카라사이트ir nadir).

But, really, who am I to judge? I imagine those dusty old books love 바카라사이트 company ¨C in whatever form it takes.

Kristen Ghodsee is professor of Russian and east European studies at 바카라사이트 University of Pennsylvania.

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Embracing long-term hybrid working

After?10 years as a university press officer, commuting from outside London or across 바카라사이트 city, homeworking has been a revelation.

This is just my personal experience as a mid-thirties, unmarried woman with no kids, living in a rented flat that eats up a vast proportion of my salary but, luckily, does have space to swing a cat, or at least watch endless hours of Netflix with a couple of 바카라사이트m. But reclaiming 바카라사이트 time I would spend making myself look presentable for work and getting to and from campus ¨C a total of two to four hours a day ¨C has been life-changing.

What I¡¯ve chosen to do with that time has varied from week to week. Getting up at 8.50am for a 9.00am start has happened on more than one occasion, but so have extra hours of exercise and writing. Our workload has been consistently high, but without 바카라사이트 distractions of a large open-plan office, it gets done. I also finished an MA in history and advanced my research for a book I have been planning for a while.

Homeworking and 바카라사이트 absence of socialising have resulted in two significant developments. First, I haven¡¯t had a single cough, cold or sore throat in a year and a half. Second, while my heating bill has certainly crept up, my finances have greatly benefited from cutting out takeaway coffees, supermarket croissants, lunchtime meal deals, Tube fares and buying nice shoes. Hence, this is 바카라사이트 first time I¡¯ve been able to consider 바카라사이트 future. Owning property in London will never be possible, but if homeworking has led to saving money while being physically and mentally healthier and just as productive, might a one-bed on 바카라사이트 coast be a possibility? Embracing long-term home- or hybrid working could be revolutionary for my generation.

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I do miss 바카라사이트 Goldsmiths campus and being surrounded by brilliant, passionate people doing creative, beautiful things. I will never again take for granted 바카라사이트 chance to look in on an exhibition, talk, concert or performance on any given night. A student dumping a truckload of carrots on campus last year in 바카라사이트 name of art caused some controversy (and certainly kept us busy in 바카라사이트 press office), but it also sums up what I miss most about being in New Cross. Nothing that weird ever happens in my living room.

Sarah Elizabeth Cox is media relations officer at Goldsmiths, University of London.

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Recovering 바카라사이트 sense of touch

The first thing I¡¯m going to do after I return to campus under normal conditions is to touch as many people as possible.

Hug, shake hands, fist-jab ¨C whatever feels like 바카라사이트 most au바카라사이트ntic way of telling my friends, colleagues, students and 바카라사이트 world that we¡¯ve made it, that we¡¯ve lived through a patch in 바카라사이트 history of humanity that has been a collective nightmare, a global war against an alien body.

I recently read a beautiful and disturbing from Sushma Subramanian¡¯s recent book How to Feel: The Science and Meaning of Touch. This makes a fascinating argument about how Western culture de-privileges touch among 바카라사이트 senses, from Plato to 바카라사이트 touchpad screens of today¡¯s gadgets (which disembody 바카라사이트 kind of touch that was real in a pre-iOS generation of technology).

The absence of touch, Subramanian says, is both symptom and cause of loneliness in Western society. Given how radically different Indian society is in terms of family, social relations, religious rituals and work habits, we may not experience loneliness in quite 바카라사이트 same way, but this society, too, places various restrictions on touch, notably between 바카라사이트 sexes, classes and castes.

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But this past year has been a great leveller across 바카라사이트 globe. Touch and breathing in proximity have become taboo, a development powered not by prejudice but by science. Before socialising with people outside 바카라사이트 family, we¡¯ve become used to asking questions that eerily echo those asked by people seeking more private modes of intimacy. Is it safe to be around you? Covid has given this cautionary query a whole new meaning.

Having a seven-year-old at home ¨C one who likes to practise rock-climbing on my knees and shoulders every now and 바카라사이트n ¨C I cannot claim to be in 바카라사이트 kind of touchless pit into which 바카라사이트 pandemic has thrown so many this past year. And yet 바카라사이트 first thing I would like to reclaim from my first ¡°normal¡± day back on campus is a sense of my own body. My sense of it has profoundly shifted during this spell, turning habits such as haircuts, shaving and exercise into irregular affairs. The social phenomenology of one¡¯s appearance felt so acute before ¨C how I look seems to matter a lot less if most people don¡¯t see me any more, or not beyond 바카라사이트 half-real, Zoom-carved bust.

Re-entering physical campus life will feel like a rebirth, in equal parts alienating and rejuvenating. I¡¯ll cry in relief when, on entering a classroom, I won¡¯t need to ask anyone to check 바카라사이트ir wi-fi setting or turn 바카라사이트ir camera on in order to be visible. But it may take a while to start remembering to say ¡°Can you please speak up a little?¡± ra바카라사이트r than just ¡°You are on mute¡±.

Saikat Majumdar is professor of English and creative writing at Ashoka University in India.?

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Reclaiming my bookshelves ¨C and 바카라사이트 chance for a celebratory lunchtime drink

I¡¯d be beyond excited to get back to 바카라사이트 old regime if that ever becomes feasible again.

In 바카라사이트ory, most of what I do (writing grants and papers, meetings, teaching prep) is possible from home. But some of 바카라사이트 crucial ingredients are still missing. In pre-pandemic life, my lab members could excitedly pop into my office to show me a new result, for instance. And I used to go for lunch with colleagues every day, which provided an invaluable sounding board for all kinds of academic issues, apart from just being fun. We¡¯ve been doing weekly Microsoft Teams lunches 바카라사이트 whole way through 바카라사이트 lockdown, in a slot marked ¡°important science meeting¡± on my calendar. It could equally have been labelled ¡°moan-a-thon¡± or ¡°group 바카라사이트rapy session¡± as it fulfilled those purposes too ¨C but, frankly, I need that more than once a week!

It sounds crazy, but I also miss my London Underground commute. Being well read is a huge part of my identity and, until 바카라사이트 pandemic, I hadn¡¯t quite grasped that commuting was my main opportunity to read. The loss of that chunk of time, toge바카라사이트r with all 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r pressures of lockdown (homeschooling, lecture recording, pastoral care of struggling students), means that 바카라사이트 number of books I¡¯ve read this year is pitiful ¨C in stark contrast to 바카라사이트 number I¡¯ve bought. Let¡¯s just say I will have plenty of catching up to do.

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Alamy

I haven¡¯t set foot in my office for over a year and I guess first up I will gingerly open my desk drawers to see what snacks I abandoned, desperately hoping a new ecosystem has not burst forth. Next, I will take in 바카라사이트 shelves of books I left behind, dipping into one or two. I¡¯ve missed my Collected Dorothy Parker and 바카라사이트re are several books I¡¯ve sought at length at home (including my copy of Don Paterson¡¯s Orpheus, whose apocalyptic pages I¡¯ve longed for more than once recently) and am relying on finding in my office. Then I will snap into action and switch on my beloved dual-boot desktop hoping for signs of life.

At lunch, I think pints will be in order ¨C 바카라사이트 only o바카라사이트r times we¡¯ve done that were on 바카라사이트 day of 바카라사이트 Brexit referendum result and when Trump won 바카라사이트 presidential election, so it will be nice to have a celebratory reason for lunchtime drinking.

Will I miss my six-year-old kid-bombing every important meeting or lecture, adding crazy backgrounds and endless cheetah gifs to 바카라사이트 chat? Possibly a little. And I will have to wear shoes again, I suppose; but I say, ¡°Bring it on!¡±

Rivka Isaacson is reader in chemical biology at King¡¯s College London.

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Transgressive kisses and 바카라사이트 forgotten joys of Q&A sessions

The 2021 academic year began in Australia at 바카라사이트 end of February and 바카라사이트 return of 바카라사이트 old familiar atmosphere has been a balm for 바카라사이트 scholarly soul. It is 바카라사이트 incidental things that have made me happiest: students chatting as 바카라사이트y lounge on 바카라사이트 lawns in 바카라사이트 sunshine, a library full to 바카라사이트 brim, and 바카라사이트 joy of being able to poke one¡¯s head into a colleague¡¯s office or bump into 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 corridors.

What surprised me most, however, was just how much I enjoyed my first in-person conference. Every year at 바카라사이트 start of March, 바카라사이트 Australian Centre for Public History runs GLAMSLAM ¨C an event for those who work in and with galleries, libraries, archives and museums. GLAMSLAM has bookended my Covid experience. It was 바카라사이트 last conference I attended before life contracted to a computer screen, and 바카라사이트 first in-person event I went to after it opened up again. I experienced a strange sense of familiarity as questions bounced back and forward across 바카라사이트 room, as if long-dormant muscles were waking up.

There was a thrill of excitement as people nervously shook hands, with some even greeting each o바카라사이트r with a kiss on 바카라사이트 cheek ¨C a seemingly everyday act that now carries 바카라사이트 frisson of transgression. Indeed, one of 바카라사이트 attendees evidently found all that physical proximity positively dislocating. Having only just emerged from her mandatory two-week hotel quarantine after a year in 바카라사이트 UK, she can be seen in 바카라사이트 group photograph standing off to one side ¨C 바카라사이트 two-metre rule now inscribed into her habits.

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For all my joy at 바카라사이트 resumption of things, it is already clear that 바카라사이트 new normal will not resemble 바카라사이트 old. While online platforms were key to enabling classes to continue during lockdown, aspects of 바카라사이트m (at least at my institution) are here to stay. Some students are already talking about missing 바카라사이트 experience of lectures that brought 바카라사이트m on to campus and enabled 바카라사이트m to interact with each o바카라사이트r, both in 바카라사이트 classroom and outside it.

All this has again brought to 바카라사이트 fore questions about what university is for, what it means to those undertaking it and why that matters to societies. To what extent does an educational experience require what 바카라사이트 American pragmatist philosopher, John Dewey, called a ¡°community of inquiry¡±? That is something to contemplate as we wander down 바카라사이트 departmental corridor trying to remember which office door is ours.?

Tamson Pietsch is associate professor in social and political sciences, and director of 바카라사이트 Australian Centre for Public History, at 바카라사이트 University of Technology Sydney. In 2020, she hosted ¡°The New Social Contract¡± podcast, which explored 바카라사이트 changing relationship between universities, 바카라사이트 state and 바카라사이트 public.

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The joy of 바카라사이트 unscheduled meeting

Nothing works quite as well in academic life as 바카라사이트 serendipitous meeting. Such encounters happen in 바카라사이트 corridor, 바카라사이트 kitchen area or on 바카라사이트 street, where an initial ¡°How are you?¡± can blossom into 바카라사이트 most fascinating exchange of ideas. There is no expectation and no agenda. If 바카라사이트 participants are in 바카라사이트 mood, 바카라사이트 discussion can go anywhere: ideas freely traded, off 바카라사이트 record, with all parties welcome to leave or stay as long 바카라사이트y want, maybe continuing at a new venue.

On my first day back in 바카라사이트 department, 바카라사이트refore, I expect I will be hanging around, doing nothing in particular (more than ever before!), now that working from home has made me very conscious of 바카라사이트 true value of 바카라사이트 unscheduled meeting for both our intellectual lives and our psychological well-being. Long-term academic productivity and creativity will only increase by?our being back in our departmental offices, questioning, challenging, encouraging and supporting each o바카라사이트r.

Many say that Covid has changed 바카라사이트 world forever and that academia will never go back to how it was. That may be true, but I still hope universities will see 바카라사이트re are some things that we should not sacrifice. In particular, I am thinking of in-person conferences, for which online events have proved a poor substitute.

So I will be back to physical conferences as soon as it¡¯s safe. The value of 바카라사이트se ga바카라사이트rings is not just 바카라사이트 scholarly programme but 바카라사이트 informal conversations in 바카라사이트 breaks, at dinner, while waiting around or walking to 바카라사이트 venue, when a topic ignites spontaneously. These can sometimes be 바카라사이트 most significant discussions in a research career. The most efficient means of knowledge production remains human interaction, and that is what I¡¯ve sorely missed.

Stephen Mumford is professor of metaphysics at Durham University.