In this post, Dr Rodanthi Tzanelli explores the ethical and aesthetic controversies surrounding the making and evolution of Borat-induced tourism advertising. Art and the new spirit of capitalism Critiques of the ‘new spirit of capitalism’ often focus on the ways art has been transformed into a money-making machine of innovation....
In this poem, Dr Rodanthi Tzanelli uses poetic language to reflect on the multiple crises humanity faces today, with particular reference to attitudes towards what is “real” and “realistic”. You are drifting away from what was agreed to be real, past the luminopolitan paradox of the movies we...
In this post Professor Scribano explores the colonisation of human sensibilities by technological and biomedical processes. The colonization process of the 21st century has its territory in bodies and its precious metal in sensibilities. Today’s mines are about sensations and data about their formation. Ships are digital, machines are cellular...
This is the final post in a three-part series reflecting on questions of racism, violence and identity politics during lockdown. In this post, Dr. Sarah Marusek revisits a popular American television series to decode meanings in the contexts of ethno-racial conflict. Identity politics has become a contentious topic in recent...
In this post, Barnor Hesse and S. Sayyid argue that the latest protests in support of Black Lives Matter illustrate how the racially unfamiliar has recast the racially familiar, creating spaces for an enduring politics of Blackness that expands the decolonial horizon. We have been here before: another killing of...
This is the second post in a three-part series reflecting on questions of racism, violence and identity politics during lockdown. In this post, Dr. Sarah Marusek explores how terrorism discourses and charges of Antisemitism are being used to silence political dissent in face of state sanctioned violence. The recent footage...
In this post, Leed’s Sociology and Social Policy PhD student Karen Tatham suggests that the inequalities in the PhD process will be further entrenched by Covid 19. PhD students are at risk of falling through the cracks in the Covid 19 pandemic; they are facing a range of issues from...
In this post, Marta Soligo examines Italy’s efforts to revive its tourism sector in the era of COVID-19, celebrating the renewed appreciation for all things local but warning of the dangers of mixing cultural heritage and politics. I am part of the generation that grew up during the European low-cost...
This is the first post in a three-part series reflecting on questions of racism, violence and identity politics during lockdown. In this post, Dr. Sarah Marusek questions whether or not empathy is enough to guide us out of the latest racial crisis. Despite the ubiquitous lockdown advertisements calmly telling us...
Dr Sarah Marusek questions the universal norms on which ‘evidence-based science’ rests in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the COVID-19 crisis further colonises our socio-political landscapes, I keep hearing public voices call upon politicians to better craft policy according to evidence-based science. It seems that we not only...
“RT @LeedsUniUnion: Halloween and Bonfire Night are nearly here and with this year’s autumnal excuses for a night out being non-existen… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…”
“RT @UniversityLeeds: Here's a reminder of our plan. We'll update further as full guidelines for West Yorkshire are announced. twitter.com/UniversityLeed…”
“& finally we congratulate @daniel_edmiston on his promotion to Lecturer in Sociology & Social Policy & Dr Kim Alle… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…”
