Afterthoughts: Transnormal, the “New Normal” and Other Varieties Of

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Afterthoughts: Transnormal, the “New Normal” and Other Varieties Of Special Issue - Postnormal Matters World Futures Review 2021, Vol. 0(0) 1–17 Afterthoughts: Transnormal, © The Author(s) 2021 Article reuse guidelines: “ ” sagepub.com/journals-permissions the New Normal and Other DOI: 10.1177/19467567211025755 Varieties of “Normal” in journals.sagepub.com/home/wfr Postnormal Times Ziauddin Sardar1 Abstract What is normal? And what constitutes “the new normal”? This article argues that the much vaunted “new normal” is nothing more than a return to the status quo ante, life before COVID-19, with a few extra appendages. After discussing the notion of the complex normal, the article suggests that what lies at the other end of postnormal times is best seen as the domain of the transnormal: over and beyond capitalism and neoliberalism, modernity, and postmodernism, almost most of what we can possibly conceive as normal or “the new normal.” The route to a transnormal world is a process of systematic movement leading to transposition: acts of changing relationships, structures, and values that interactively and collectively relocate humanity to a trans, or stable, state or realm of existence. The article suggests that we use the concepts of transmodernity and mutually assured diversity as tools to navigate toward the transnormal and our way out of postnormal times. Keywords postnormal times, normal, complexity, the new normal, transnormal, transmodernity, mutually assured diversity “The last normal photo.” In May 2020, Robyn all confirming an instant nostalgia for some- Vinter, a journalist based in Leeds for Yorkshire thing called “the normal.” Post, started the hashtag #lastnormalphoto But what is this “normal” that is so desired (Bakare 2020). It went viral: she received by so many people? Conspicuously missing thousands of replies, with people across the from the last normal photos are pictures of world posting the last picture they took before people living from hand to mouth, plates with the COVID-19 global lockdown. Amongst the photos were music concerts, football matches, shopping, restaurant dinners, plates piled up 1Centre for Postnormal Policy and Futures Studies, with food glorious food, people meeting el- London, UK derly relatives, revellers on the beach, fashion, fi Corresponding Author: and a truckload of celebrity sel es. Other Ziauddin Sardar, Centre for Postnormal Policy and Futures hashtags followed, including #happiertimes, Studies, 1 Orchard Gate, London NW9 6HU, UK. #beforesocialdistancing, and #misstheolddays, Email: [email protected] 2 World Futures Review 0(0) little or no food, migrant and refugees living in Cockburn told us that the normal gets worse squalor, and the homeless living on the streets. and worse: We do not see this as “normal.” But as Pope Francis (2020) points out, this too is normal for Strikes across the frontier and strikes for higher a substantial segment of the global population— wage a reality we cannot deny: “to discover such a Planet lurches to the right as ideologies engage large number of people who are on the mar- Suddenly it’s repression, moratorium on rights … ’ gins And we don t see them, because poverty What did they think the politics of panic would … is bashful they have become part of the invite? ” landscape; they are things. There is a great deal Person in the street shrugs “Security comes first” more that is “part of the landscape” that we do But the trouble with normal is it always gets not see as normal: devastation caused by climate worse. change; the megafires in Australia and the United States; cities, such as Male and Jakarta, For Nichol (2020), a California-based nov- drowning underwater; the rising tide of far right elist, “normal life” was certainly getting crueller in Europe, the United States, India, and else- and crueller. She had to live through “the last where; gross inequality within and between year’s fire, and the fires the year before that, and nations; the incompetence of political and the firesyearbeforethat.” During 2018, she business elite; authoritarian regimes arresting, informs us, “fires burned nearly two million beating, or torturing dissidents; and the hoard- acres in California. And in 2017, fire ravaged a ing of global wealth in ever fewer hands. The fi – signi cant portion of my hometown. When the nostalgic perception of pre COVID-19 days is university where I teach recently closed for the thus a rather truncated, myopic normal. The semester because of shelter-at-home orders, it normal, as Indian writer and activist, Roy was the fourth closure in three years.” The In- (2020), points out, “is the wreckage of a train dian intellectual Mishra (2020) suggested that that has been careening down the tract for even bigger “systematic crisis” lay ahead, and as years.” Indeed, from the perspective of those such, return to imagined normal was not on the who are suffering from the direct impact of cards. Baker (2020) concludes his “long read” climate change, or migrants and refugees fleeing article in the Guardian, “we can’tgobackto oppression, or millions of those who lost their normal,” by suggesting “we are not watching a jobs due to automation and AI, or those millions movie, we are writing one, together, until the who are thrown in internment camps or declared end.” non-citizens simply because of their faith, the What then lies at the end of the COVID-19 pre–COVID-19 world was rather abnormal: this tunnel depends on your perception and is not how things ought to be, you can hear them outlook—whether you are a pessimist or an scream. optimist, politically on the left or the right, realist or a dreamer, or looking at short term or “ Return to Normal long term futures. In the short run, the the new normal,” Park (Park 2020) tells us in Time, The clamor for life to get “back to normal,” as means “the death of the handshake,”“re- evident on the front pages of newspapers as on thinking how self-isolation fits into broader the news channels and social media, is a de- policy decisions,” and “microbial threats like mand for return to the status quo ante: the coronaviruses will inevitably move from the “normal” state of affairs before COVID-19. bottom to the top of public health priority lists, But as graffiti in Hong Kong, and elsewhere, and the danger of infectious diseases will loom declared: “there can be no return to normal large on our collective conscious.” According because normal was the problem in the first to numerous reports in the Guardian, the “new place.” Indeed, way back in 1983, singer Bruce normal” will include social distancing for years Sardar 3 to come, more people working from home, He cites President Emmanuel Macron of common use of face masks, swift shutdowns, France who declared: “many certainties and health checks when flying, and end of business convictions will be swept away. Many things travel—namely, the old normal with a few we thought were impossible are happening.” restrictions. Beyond that, the optimistic view The most obvious “impossible” thing that is all suggests that the experience of COVID-19 too evident is the return of the big state after a could enhance our understanding of climate 30-year retreat. In many countries, states have change, there will be mass protests for change, provided support for its citizens, forced by and “moments of solidarity” could be trans- COVID-19 to isolate; in some countries, even formed into “the broader political sphere.” The small and big businesses have been rescued and pessimists believe that surveillance will in- stopped from going bankrupt. Nationalization, tensify, authoritarian regimes will become even another recent “impossible,” is now on the more draconian, distrust between government cards: Spain considered and then postponed and citizens will increase, neoliberal capitalism nationalizing private hospitals, France is keen will run wild, and there will be more deaths and to nationalize large businesses, and in Britain, suffering worldwide. However, it could take there is a strong possibility of nationalizing some time before we are out of the crisis. As some parts of public transport. However, it may journalist Young (2020) suggests in the At- take a few years before we can declare the end lantic, the “end game” has three possible of COVID-19 days. outcomes. First, there is an international unity In a massive dossier, with contributions and collaboration to concurrently stamp out the from a host of American and European aca- virus but this does not look likely. Second, demics and writers, Politico magazine provides people develop “herd immunity” but this will a long catalog of how “Coronavirus will “come at a terrible cost,” and “it would likely change the world permanently.” The sugges- leave behind many millions of corpses and a tions from the good and the great include the trail of devastated health systems.” The third obvious—we will be more reluctant to touch potential outcome is that the virus is ex- people, there will be less communal dining and tinguished here and there until a viable vaccine more cooking, we will work more from home, is developed; something that may take “very and virtual meetings will become common—to long.” We will have to learn to live with the not-so-obvious positive and negative predic- virus until such time. tions. These include polarization and individ- ualism: “the coronavirus pandemic marks the The Changing Normal end of our romance with market society and hyper-individualism.” Or, we could also go the Whatever happens, Yuval Noah Harari argued other way: become less communal and more in a much-quoted article in Financial Times authoritarian. “Regulatory barriers to online that we will never be the same again. Short tools will fall,” and Big Tech would become “emergency measures will become a fixture of omnipotent.
Recommended publications
  • Landscrapers Vs. Skyscrapers
    Debating Tall Landscrapers vs. Skyscrapers What does the office of the future look like? The leading tech industry giants all seem to agree the main goal is “connectivity” that forges collaboration and ideation. But there are significant differences in how this manifests in the built environment. Recently, Facebook and Google have proposed or built “landscrapers” – large, elongated buildings, in both low- (Menlo Park, California) and high-density (London) cities. Others, such as Salesforce (San Francisco) and Tencent (Shenzhen) (see Case Study, page 12), have chosen skyscrapers. We asked, “Are ‘landscrapers’ a more plausible form of office building than skyscrapers for low- to mid-density cities?” YES density within a smaller geographic space? So entails being in a tall building. Silicon Amy Webb far, we’ve seen an inverse correlation between Valley is an obvious exception. Apart from Professor, Stern School of Business, New York density and quality of life. That brings us to projecting unprecedented power and University/Founder, Future Today Institute architectural design. New buildings in prestige, these magnificent and highly densely-populated urban centers have no bespoke horizontal office monuments In the near future, landscapers will create way to go but up. In our new economic have been created to attract high-caliber entirely new urban footprints in emerging centers, architects will be freed to develop employees. Complete with their very own low-density economic centers. There are a new models for working and living. Recent utopian visions with physical number of factors conspiring to push innovations in elevator technologies, such as manifestations so remote from their what was once a concept from the fringe the ropeless elevator, will make it easier to surroundings, these physically isolated into the mainstream.
    [Show full text]
  • Alternative Perspectives of African American Culture and Representation in the Works of Ishmael Reed
    ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE AND REPRESENTATION IN THE WORKS OF ISHMAEL REED A thesis submitted to the faculty of San Francisco State University In partial fulfillment of Zo\% The requirements for IMl The Degree Master of Arts In English: Literature by Jason Andrew Jackl San Francisco, California May 2018 Copyright by Jason Andrew Jackl 2018 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read Alternative Perspectives o f African American Culture and Representation in the Works o f Ishmael Reed by Jason Andrew Jackl, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts in English Literature at San Francisco State University. Geoffrey Grec/C Ph.D. Professor of English Sarita Cannon, Ph.D. Associate Professor of English ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE AND REPRESENTATION IN THE WORKS OF ISHMAEL REED Jason Andrew JackI San Francisco, California 2018 This thesis demonstrates the ways in which Ishmael Reed proposes incisive countemarratives to the hegemonic master narratives that perpetuate degrading misportrayals of Afro American culture in the historical record and mainstream news and entertainment media of the United States. Many critics and readers have responded reductively to Reed’s work by hastily dismissing his proposals, thereby disallowing thoughtful critical engagement with Reed’s views as put forth in his fiction and non­ fiction writing. The study that follows asserts that Reed’s corpus deserves more thoughtful critical and public recognition than it has received thus far. To that end, I argue that a critical re-exploration of his fiction and non-fiction writing would yield profound contributions to the ongoing national dialogue on race relations in America.
    [Show full text]
  • Section 2: Emerging Technologies and Military-Civil Fusion: Artificial Intelli
    SECTION 2: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND MILITARY-CIVIL FUSION: ARTIFICIAL INTELLI- GENCE, NEW MATERIALS, AND NEW ENERGY Key Findings • China’s government has implemented a whole-of-society strat- egy to attain leadership in artificial intelligence (AI), new and advanced materials, and new energy technologies (e.g., energy storage and nuclear power). It is prioritizing these areas be- cause they underpin advances in many other technologies and could lead to substantial scientific breakthroughs, economic dis- ruption, enduring economic benefits, and rapid changes in mili- tary capabilities and tactics. • The Chinese government’s military-civil fusion policy aims to spur innovation and economic growth through an array of pol- icies and other government-supported mechanisms, including venture capital (VC) funds, while leveraging the fruits of civil- ian innovation for China’s defense sector. The breadth and opac- ity of military-civil fusion increase the chances civilian academ- ic collaboration and business partnerships between the United States and China could aid China’s military development. • China’s robust manufacturing base and government support for translating research breakthroughs into applications allow it to commercialize new technologies more quickly than the Unit- ed States and at a fraction of the cost. These advantages may enable China to outpace the United States in commercializing discoveries initially made in U.S. labs and funded by U.S. insti- tutions for both mass market and military use. • Artificial intelligence: Chinese firms and research institutes are advancing uses of AI that could undermine U.S. economic lead- ership and provide an asymmetrical advantage in warfare. Chi- nese military strategists see AI as a breakout technology that could enable China to rapidly modernize its military, surpassing overall U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Hammer Langdon Cv18.Pdf
    LANGDON HAMMER Department of English [email protected] Yale University jamesmerrillweb.com New Haven CT 06520-8302 yale.edu bio page USA EDUCATION Ph.D., English Language and Literature, Yale University B.A., English Major, summa cum laude, Yale University ACADEMIC APPOINTMENT Niel Gray, Jr., Professor of English and American Studies, Yale University Appointments in the English Department at Yale: Lecturer Convertible, 1987; Assistant Professor, 1989; Associate Professor with tenure, 1996; Professor, 2001; Department Chair, 2005-fall 2008, Acting Department Chair, fall 2011 and fall 2013, Department Chair, 2014-17 and 2017-19 PUBLICATIONS Books In progress: Elizabeth Bishop: Life & Works, A Critical Biography (under contract to Farrar Straus Giroux) The Oxford History of Poetry in English (Oxford UP), 18 volumes, Patrick Cheney general editor; LH coordinating editor for Volumes 10-12 on American Poetry, and editor for Volume 12 The Oxford History of American Poetry Since 1939 The Selected Letters of James Merrill, edited by LH, J. D. McClatchy, and Stephen Yenser (under contract to Alfred A. Knopf) Published: James Merrill: Poems, Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets, selected and edited with a foreword by LH (Penguin RandomHouse, 2017), 256 pp James Merrill: Life and Art (Alfred A. Knopf, 2015), 944 pp, 32 pp images, and jamesmerrillweb.com, a website companion with more images, bibliography, documents, linked reviews, and blog Winner, Lambda Literary Award for Gay Memoir/Biography, 2016. Finalist for the Poetry 2 Foundation’s Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism, 2015. Named a Times Literary Supplement “Book of the Year, 2015” (two nominations, November 25). New York Times, “Top Books of 2015” (December 11).
    [Show full text]
  • It Takes a Journalist
    IT TAKES A JOURNALIST ® 2019 ANNUAL REVIEW IT TAKES A OUR MISSION LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT JOURNALIST ® ICFJ empowers a global network of Dear Friend, 2 OUR MISSION journalists to produce news coverage Across the globe, our unparalleled network of journalists produces news stories 3 LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT that have tremendous impact. With our training and support, these journalists: 4 BLAZING THE TRAIL that leads to better governments, Hold the powerful to account even in the darkest corners of the world 6 OUR NETWORK stronger economies, vibrant societies where autocratic forces threaten their safety. 8 OUR IMPACT and healthier lives. Combat disinformation as fake news spreads across every platform — 12 AWARDS DINNER from local radio in the smallest village to the social media giants. 15 FINANCIALS 16 OUR DONORS Give voice to the forgotten, such as poor children denied an ICFJ HAS WORKED WITH education or women deformed in vicious acid attacks. 19 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 140,000+ JOURNALISTS On our 35th anniversary, we are committed to expanding our vast network of journalists, who are pursuing the truth despite the risks. FROM 180 COUNTRIES Join our efforts to support the truth tellers in these perilous times. To ensure free and vibrant societies, it takes a journalist. OVER 35 YEARS Joyce Barnathan, President, ICFJ ICFJ 2019 ANNUAL REVIEW 3 BLAZING THE TRAIL ICFJ has stayed ahead of the trends to ensure that journalists can provide the highest quality content. 1984 1989 1994 2001 2007 2009 2010 2014 2016 2017 2018 2018 2019 Founded by Led the rise of Trained a new Helped U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • 2016-2017 Report
    The Society of Fellows in the Humanities Annual Report 2016–2017 Society of Fellows Mail Code 5700 Columbia University 2960 Broadway New York, NY 10027 Phone: (212) 854-8443 Fax: (212) 662-7289 [email protected] www.societyoffellows.columbia.edu By FedEx or UPS: Society of Fellows 74 Morningside Drive Heyman Center, First Floor East Campus Residential Center Columbia University New York, NY 10027 Posters courtesy of designers Amelia Saul and Sean Boggs 2 Contents Report From The Chair 5 Special Events 31 Members of the 2016–2017 Governing Board 8 Heyman Center Events 35 • Event Highlights 36 Forty-Second Annual Fellowship Competition 9 • Public Humanities Initiative 47 Fellows in Residence 2016–2017 11 • Heyman Center Series and Workshops 50 • Benjamin Breen 12 Nietzsche 13/13 Seminar 50 • Christopher M. Florio 13 New Books in the Arts & Sciences 50 • David Gutkin 14 New Books in the Society of Fellows 54 • Heidi Hausse 15 The Program in World Philology 56 • Arden Hegele 16 • Full List of Heyman Center Events • Whitney Laemmli 17 2016–2017 57 • Max Mishler 18 • María González Pendás 19 Heyman Center Fellows 2016–2017 65 • Carmel Raz 20 Alumni Fellows News 71 Thursday Lectures Series 21 Alumni Fellows Directory 74 • Fall 2016: Fellows’ Talks 23 • Spring 2017: Shock and Reverberation 26 2016–2017 Fellows at the annual year-end Spring gathering (from left): María González Pendás (2016–2019), Arden Hegele (2016–2019), David Gutkin (2015–2017), Whitney Laemmli (2016–2019), Christopher Florio (2016–2019) Heidi Hausse (2016–2018), Max Mishler (2016–2017), and Carmel Raz (2015–2018).
    [Show full text]
  • Double Catastrophe: Intermittent Stratospheric Geoengineering Induced by Societal Collapse
    Double Catastrophe: Intermittent Stratospheric Geoengineering Induced By Societal Collapse Seth D. Baum1,2,3,4,*, Timothy M. Maher, Jr.1,5, and Jacob Haqq-Misra1,4 1. Global Catastrophic Risk Institute 2. Department of Geography, Pennsylvania State University 3. Center for Research on Environmental Decisions, Columbia University 4. Blue Marble Space Institute of Science 5. Center for Environmental Policy, Bard College * Corresponding author. [email protected] Environment, Systems and Decisions 33(1):168-180. This version: 23 March 2013 Abstract Perceived failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has prompted interest in avoiding the harms of climate change via geoengineering, that is, the intentional manipulation of Earth system processes. Perhaps the most promising geoengineering technique is stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), which reflects incoming solar radiation, thereby lowering surface temperatures. This paper analyzes a scenario in which SAI brings great harm on its own. The scenario is based on the issue of SAI intermittency, in which aerosol injection is halted, sending temperatures rapidly back toward where they would have been without SAI. The rapid temperature increase could be quite damaging, which in turn creates a strong incentive to avoid intermittency. In the scenario, a catastrophic societal collapse eliminates society’s ability to continue SAI, despite the incentive. The collapse could be caused by a pandemic, nuclear war, or other global catastrophe. The ensuing intermittency hits a population that is already vulnerable from the initial collapse, making for a double catastrophe. While the outcomes of the double catastrophe are difficult to predict, plausible worst-case scenarios include human extinction. The decision to implement SAI is found to depend on whether global catastrophe is more likely from double catastrophe or from climate change alone.
    [Show full text]
  • A Portrait of Fandom Women in The
    DAUGHTERS OF THE DIGITAL: A PORTRAIT OF FANDOM WOMEN IN THE CONTEMPORARY INTERNET AGE ____________________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Honors TutoriAl College Ohio University _______________________________________ In PArtiAl Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation from the Honors TutoriAl College with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Journalism ______________________________________ by DelAney P. Murray April 2020 Murray 1 This thesis has been approved by The Honors TutoriAl College and the Department of Journalism __________________________ Dr. Eve Ng, AssociAte Professor, MediA Arts & Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Thesis Adviser ___________________________ Dr. Bernhard Debatin Director of Studies, Journalism ___________________________ Dr. Donal Skinner DeAn, Honors TutoriAl College ___________________________ Murray 2 Abstract MediA fandom — defined here by the curation of fiction, art, “zines” (independently printed mAgazines) and other forms of mediA creAted by fans of various pop culture franchises — is a rich subculture mAinly led by women and other mArginalized groups that has attracted mAinstreAm mediA attention in the past decAde. However, journalistic coverage of mediA fandom cAn be misinformed and include condescending framing. In order to remedy negatively biAsed framing seen in journalistic reporting on fandom, I wrote my own long form feAture showing the modern stAte of FAndom based on the generation of lAte millenniAl women who engaged in fandom between the eArly age of the Internet and today. This piece is mAinly focused on the modern experiences of women in fandom spaces and how they balAnce a lifelong connection to fandom, professional and personal connections, and ongoing issues they experience within fandom. My study is also contextualized by my studies in the contemporary history of mediA fan culture in the Internet age, beginning in the 1990’s And to the present day.
    [Show full text]
  • Money, Work, and Mass Extinction: Transformational Degrowth and The
    MONEY, WORK, AND MASS EXTINCTION: TRANSFORMATIONAL DEGROWTH AND THE JOB GUARANTEE A DISSERTATION IN Economics and Social Sciences Consortium Presented to the Faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by BJ UNTI B.A., Portland State University, 2006 Kansas City, Missouri 2020 MONEY, WORK, AND MASS EXTINCTION TRANSFORMATIONAL DEGROWTH AND THE JOB GUARANTEE BJ Unti, Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2020 ABSTRACT This dissertation is composed of three independent essays. Each essay traces social and ecological crises to capitalist institutions and proposes how a job guarantee (JG) can be adapted to resolve them in the context of degrowth. The first essay focuses on the relationship between economic growth and ecological destruction. In a monetary production economy, there is a trade- off between employment and the environment. To reconcile social and ecological goals it is necessary to decouple employment from growth. A JG makes this possible. The outlines of a simple two-sector model show how a JG can be used to maintain full employment and facilitate a reduction in aggregate output. The JG offers individuals a way to opt out of monetary production and thus, presents a pathway to fundamentally transform the economy. The second essay considers the diverse variety of strategies and policies that have emerged in the degrowth movement. These are classified into two categories. Top-down approaches insist that centralized policies relying on government control are necessary. Bottom- up approaches insist that transformation must stem from the decentralization of power and the expansion of individual autonomy.
    [Show full text]
  • Geography 130 Natural Resources and Population Summer 2010 Tu W Th 9 – 11:30 145 Mccone I
    Geography 130 Natural Resources and Population Summer 2010 Tu W Th 9 – 11:30 145 McCone Instructor: Nathan McClintock Email: [email protected] Office: 199 McCone Office Hours: Tu & Th 12 – 1 Ever since puBlication of Thomas Malthus’s Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798, the English‐ speaking world has equated population growth with apocalypse. Despite having Been repeatedly deBunked, Malthusian logic continues to inform present‐day deBates, inspiring fears of catastrophic plagues, widespread famine, uncontrolled immigration, ecological degradation, economic collapse, and political anarchy. This course is grounded in the idea that human‐environment relations are always social relations. How natural resources are produced, distriButed, valued, consumed, conserved and degraded are historically‐ and geographically‐specific questions whose answers cannot Be reduced to the Earth’s “carrying capacity” or a “population BomB.” While the world’s population has never Been larger, and its environmental prospects have never Been as dim as at present, the outcomes of population growth and natural resource development (or depletion) are neither preordained nor very predictaBle. We will Begin with an overview of human population trends and associated environmental change, followed By an overview of various theories on human‐environment interactions, including a numBer of case studies. Several key issues—food, agriculture, urBaniZation, waste, water, fisheries, and fuel—will highlight the spatial and social complexities of resource use. We will see that environmental issues are always intimately related to political and economic ones—colonialism, capitalism, the state, science, and so forth—and “the natural” cannot Be aBstracted from “the social.” Course Requirements: This class will consist of a mixture of lectures, discussion, small group work, guest speakers, and films/videos.
    [Show full text]
  • Televisual Liveness and Corporeal Interruption Alla Gadassik1
    Spring 2010 117 At a Loss for Words: Televisual Liveness and Corporeal Interruption Alla Gadassik1 Introduction In the closing days of 2004, the New York Times published a list of “TV’s Best Live Moments” from the preceding year.2 By the night of its release, the list already seemed outdated, as television networks scrambled to bring viewers the first live reports from a devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean. However, even before its historical relevance became superseded by the natural disaster, the list already presented a very peculiar survey of television. After all, no major events or catastrophes from the previous year were included in its inventory of captivating spectacles—not Hurricanes Jeanne or Ivan; not the publicized funeral of Ronald Reagan or the much-discussed re-election of George W. Bush; not the historical Olympic Games in Athens or the self-congratulatory Academy Awards. Not a single important live broadcast was featured in the newspaper’s year-end reflection. Instead, the list consisted entirely of much more banal events that somehow attained mythical status in public discourse. These included, among others: Janet Jackson’s bared breast, Ashlee Simpson’s lip-syncing embarrassment, Jon Stewart’s political commentary on CNN’s Crossfire, and Scott Peterson’s cold response to his death penalty sentence. This strange selection, which emerged amidst wider coverage of feel-good holiday stories and year-end recaps, is by no means an accurate representation of national political values. Nor do I think that its contents can simply be ascribed to journalistic contempt for television. After all, many of the selected televised moments did receive a frenzy of public attention, and were widely circulated or discussed by multiple media.
    [Show full text]
  • The Economic Risks of Globalization Expert and Public Opinion Survey Results
    Jan Arpe, Holger Glockner, Helmut Hauschild, Thieß Petersen, Andreas Schaich, Tim Volkmann The Economic Risks of Globalization Expert and Public Opinion Survey Results Global Choices 1 | 2012 Address | Contact: Bertelsmann Stiftung Carl-Bertelsmann-Straße 256 33311 Gütersloh Germany Phone +49 5241 81-0 Fax +49 5241 81-81999 The Economic Risks of Globalization Dr. Jan Arpe Phone +49 5241 81-81157 E-Mail [email protected] 2012 | Helmut Hauschild 1 Phone +49 5241 81-81521 E-Mail [email protected] Global Choices www.bertelsmann-stiftung.org www.global-choices.org GlobalChoices_GB_A5_25_6_2012.indd 1-3 26.06.12 09:57 Transformation Index BTI 2012 BERT_Titel_BTI2012.qxd:Bertelsmann Cover A4 24.02.2011 11:38 Uhr Seite 1 The peaceful transition of authoritarian regimes towards democracy Global Choices and a market economy poses enormous challenges for citizens and politicians alike. Around the world, under widely differing condi- tions and with varying degrees of success, reform-oriented groups The world is changing at breathtaking speed. Global challenges, from climate change are struggling to democratize their countries and to strengthen the to cyber crime, are growing increasingly complex. Emerging economic powers in Asia market economy. Good governance is the decisive factor for the 2003 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2012 and Latin America are assuming greater roles in geopolitical matters. The shift of eco- success or failure of any transition process. nomic power to the east is creating new dependencies. In short, the ground rules of The BTI 2012 is the fi fth edition of the Bertelsmann Stiftung‘s international cooperation are being rewritten.
    [Show full text]