When this is over, we must remember we knew the pandemic was coming
On 18th July the UK’s COVID-19 Inquiry led by Baroness Heather Hallett published its first report and made recommendations covering its investigations into Module 1 on ‘Resilience and Preparedness’. It concluded that the UK had prepared for the ‘wrong pandemic’ and in doing so vindicated the arguments and testimonies made in our book When This Is Over: Reflections on…
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‘State, Power, and Globalisation’ Research Centre: Fall 2023 Events
We are pleased to announce a series of exciting events this Semester at the ‘State, Power, and Globalisation’ (SPG) Research Centre. All are in person and will take place at Richmond, American University London’s Chiswick Park Campus. Email PurnelK@Richmond.ac.uk to register. EVENT 1) Professor Jessica Auchter, University Laval Topic: Global Corpse Politics Thursday 14th September…
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On Boats and Bodies
The rush to ‘takes’ is too soon as always. As a scholar of body politics and grievability (amongst other things) I am guilty of having had and tweeted an initial half-formed opinion on the ‘two boats*’ being increasingly scrutinised world-over this week. However, since then – and as the noise around these two ill but…
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An apolitical tapestry can’t replace listening to those bereaved by COVID-19
By Kandida Purnell, 01/06/2023, Published by Policy Press, Transforming Society Last week in The Guardian, in ‘Bereaved families withdraw support for UK Covid tapestry’, Robert Booth reported on the latest developments in official (UK government-led) ‘national’ COVID-19 commemorations. Advocacy groups – despondent at their treatment within the UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry process – withdrew their participation from…
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Call for Participants for ISA 2024 Roundtables on ‘Rethinking the Body in Global Politics’
Rethinking The Body in Global Politics: Roundtable Proposal ISA 2024 San Francisco 3-6 April 2024 Organiser: Kandida Purnell Bodies are contested sites of global politics. This is the main contention of ‘Rethinking the Body in Global Politics’ (Purnell, 2021). These roundtables bring together scholars starting their diverse investigations into local–national-international relations with and from bodies…
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The Queen’s Two Bodies: Why metaphors matter – especially in a time of monarchical mourning
From the ‘head of state’, to the ‘public eye’, to the ‘arm’ in army and the ‘footmen’ who comprise it, as a metaphor, the body politic is a rhetorical device used to make political communities knowable as a human body. In these ways, the thinking and practice of politics is profoundly embodied and embodies political communities through metaphoricity…
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When This Is Over: Reflections on an Unequal Pandemic
Amy Cortvriend, Lucy Easthope, Jenny Edkins, and myself (Kandida Purnell) have been working on ‘When This Is Over’ since early 2021 and are excited to announce that it will be coming out with Bristol University Press, Policy Press to mark the 3rd anniversary of the 1st UK Lockdown in March 2023. ‘When This Is Over’…
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Dr Kandida Purnell 