University of Warwick Press: Journals
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An Unsustainable Modernity: Democracy, the global climate emergency and environmental ethics
Get PDFThe paper opens with a series of observations on the unsustainability of modernity, its distinctive features and environmental consequences, which are global in scale and scope. Consideration is given to the global climate emergency and decline in biodiversity and ecosystems and the scientific research that has been accumulating from the nineteenth century, research which has demonstrated the increasingly damaging environmental consequences of business-as-usual under modern capitalist conditions of production and consumption. Scientific evidence confirms that we are in a climate emergency; engaging critically with social and political analyses, this paper therefore focuses on questions subsequently raised about the limits and limitations of the nation state and democratic forms of political governance to deliver what is required to meet the challenge of the global climate emergency. The paper argues for a radical rethinking of the collective and the commons, to encompass all species; it concludes with a call for a Levinasian environmental ethics as the basis for any possibility, remote as that might currently seem, of achieving a sustainable ecologically just form of life not diminished by, or subservient to, anthropocentric assumptions
A ‘horrid way of feeding’: Pervasive, aggressive, repulsive cannibalism
No full textCannibalism both fascinates and repels. The concept of the cannibal has changed and evolved, from the semi- or in-human anthropophagi of Classical texts to the ‘savage’ cannibals of colonial times, whose alleged aberrations served as a justification for invasion, conversion and extermination, to the contemporary cannibal driven often by psychosexual drives. Cannibal texts typically present the act as pervasive, aggressive and repulsive. If these parameters are admitted, alleged cannibals immediately fall outside normative European humanist morality. This paper examines cannibalism as a major delineator of the civilised human. Cannibals offer social scientists a handy milestone to confirm the constant improvement and progress of humanity. The idea that colonised peoples were not savage, degenerate cannibals threatens the concept of the ‘Great Chain of Being’, which was assumed to show an inexorable progress from plants to animals to humans, and upward toward the divine, led by enlightened Western civilisation. But cannibal mythology, factual or imaginary, offers an opportunity to re-evaluate the assumptions of human supremacism and see ourselves as edible, natural beings
A Tale of Two Developments: Editorial, Volume 7, Part 3
No full textThis is an introductory editorial for the fifteenth volume of Exchanges. In this piece, the journal’s Editor-in-Chief explores some of the difficulties faced by authors, reviewers and editors alike working on academic publishing in a time of Covid-19 crisis. It briefly considers some of the hard decisions needed, but also examines how the lockdown period has permitted a re-visitation and embrace of the journal’s overarching ethos by the Editorial Board. The article reveals some of the drivers which have led to the launch of the journal’s new podcast series, alongside providing insights into some of the future planned episode. Crucially, the editorial provides an overview of each piece of work appearing in this journal issue as a guide for readers. The article closes by highlighting Exchanges open call for publication submissions, along with announcing a new themed call on the theme of ‘Challenge and Opportunity’
The Comforting Nonsense of Creativity
No full textJonah Lehrer’s book Imagine: How Creativity Works was discredited when it was discovered that it included fabricated quotes by Bob Dylan. It was also criticised for cherry picking the science of creativity and adding little of worth to the literature on the subject.
While this may be true, I suggest that much scientific literature about creativity is already epistemologically and methodologically incoherent, and characterised by the treatment of creativity as something with stable ontic status, rather than something which is always, inevitably produced through cultural processes of interpretation and association. An examination, using the tools of discourse analysis, of some of the research papers cited by Lehrer, along with other related examples, reveals some of the assumptions and rhetorical manoeuvres at work.
Despite the overt falsehoods in his book, the stories that Jonah Lehrer tells us are consistent with the stories that the research, science, and policy tell us about creativity – all are equally fanciful. Nevertheless, if we choose to suspend our disbelief in such stories, and their rhetorical prestidigitation, there are some comforts and pleasures to be obtained from the illusion of essential humanity that they create.
Exchanges Discourse Podcast
A Conversation with…Mark Readman [20:37
Neoliberalism, Hindutva and Gender: Convergence and Contradictions in the Provision of Welfare
Get PDFThis article explores the convergence and contradictions between the two hegemonic projects of neoliberalism and Hindutva and the reinforcement/reconstruction of patriarchal gender relations in relation to welfare. Analysis of some key social policies and specific legal interventions show the fusion of the two in the construction of the family/nation/gender related to population regulation, governance of populations, the forging of a paternal contract, the move from welfare to financialization and the undermining of labour rights through regulatory and disciplinary labour codes. The convergence of neoliberalism and Hindutva results in a shift from rights-based entitlements to further commodification and digital financialization and the creation of a hindutvatised neoliberal subjectivity.
Keywords: Neoliberal authoritarianism, Hindutva, Welfare, Gender, Labou
Alfresco Dining and Reinvigorated Acquaintance: Editorial, Volume 8, Part 1
No full textIn this editorial for the most recent issue of Exchanges, the editor-in-chief reflects on some of the small positives which have emerged from the Covid-19 mandated lockdown period of working. He talks a little more about the work of the podcast in supporting the twin role of the journal in disseminating interdisciplinary research but also enabling a learning environment. The editorial continues by providing an overview of the articles appearing in this issue, before moving to announce a new call for papers in the area of ‘AI: Panic or Panacea’. The editorial closes with advice for submitting authors, and acknowledgement of the efforts for those who have brought the issue together
Women’s Representation in the Post-Soviet Space: Latvia and Lithuania
No full textUsing a most-similar case design to compare Latvia and Lithuania, this study examines the role electoral systems play in affecting greater representation of women in post-Soviet democracies. After Latvia’s most recent election, Latvia demonstrated a much higher percentage of women in its parliament (31%) than Lithuania (21%). Interestingly, in spite of having higher descriptive representation, Latvia has no quotas or women\u27s organizations/caucuses while Lithuania implements voluntary quotas and has a prevalent women\u27s caucus. This study advances an institutional argument, hypothesizing that the Latvian parliament\u27s higher percentage of women can be attributed to its proportional representation electoral system. Lithuania has a mixed system that has favored a majoritarian pole, which in turn, has adversely affected women’s electoral success. In many ways, women’s substantive representation in Latvia and Lithuania is only marginally different. However, in regard to the sheer number of women in parliament, the difference between Lithuania and Latvia proves relatively marked. The Latvian and Lithuanian cases demonstrate that proportional representation electoral systems are more favorable to women candidates than mixed systems, even in the absence of quotas and a women’s movement and particularly in the context of post-Soviet democracie
Knowledge and Habits Towards Antibiotic Use and Resistance of Public University Students in Nisava Region – Southern Serbia
No full textAntibiotic resistance has become a serious threat to global health. This study aimed to assess knowledge and habits surrounding the use of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance of university students residing in urban areas compared to those in rural areas of Nisava region, Serbia. Data was gathered using an online survey and tested for statistical differences using the Chi-squared test. A total of 380 students participated with a response rate of 94.7 per cent. Of this, 84.4 per cent of students correctly identified antibiotics as being effective against bacteria and distinguished well between antibiotics and other types of medicines. However, 31.4 per cent believe that antibiotics help with most diseases, not just bacteria-related illnesses. While only 12.5 per cent said they believed that therapy can be interrupted when the symptoms fade, a total of 45.8% admitted to premature treatment interruption. As many as 59.7 per cent reported having bought antibiotics without a prescription, and a significant portion of 62.5 per cent reported having taken antibiotics for travel emergencies. There was no statistically significant difference related to the domicile of the students (p>0.05). Students demonstrated relatively acceptable knowledge on antibiotics use and antibacterial resistance – which is not reflected in their practice of using antibiotics. Campaigns are needed to promote awareness on antibiotic resistance as students’ habits are not satisfactory
Il dolore e l\u27eterno: Per una lettura di Per diverse ragioni di Domenico Brancale
No full textThis essay will consist of a critical reading of Per diverse ragioni, the latest collection by the poet Domenico Brancale published in 2017 for Passigli. Through a transversal reading of the poetic text, the main thematic and poetic issues of the author will be analyzed. A second point of interest will be the deepening of the ontological framework and of the conceptual meanings of the collection, and it will be connected to an investigation relating to its formal and philosophical-speculative derivations