Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies Blog
by Prof. Dr. Andreas Musolff (University of East Anglia) When the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic became publicly visible in March 2020, a number of political leaders rushed to declare a “war” on it, not dissimilar to earlier politicians’ pronouncements about “wars” against illnesses, addictions and pandemics (e.g. against cancer, AIDS, drugs, SARS). Now, threatened by...
by Assistant Professor Dr. Niels Grüne (University of Innsbruck) Almost from the onset of the current pandemic, sanguine commentators have envisioned that the pervasiveness of the virus and of the lockdown measures would also have profound beneficent effects on Western societies. In particular, the experience of collective vulnerability might foster a sense of solidarity across...
by Prof. Dr. Dr. Massimo Leone (University of Turin, Shanghai University, and FRIAS, Freiburg Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Freiburg) Language is the essential cognitive resource of human beings. Through it, they can better cope with a changing environment. When change is fast, language changes rapidly too. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the entire...
by Prof. Dr. Catherine McBride (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) As I write this blog, the world is in chaos. I am an American who works in Hong Kong, and my husband is Swiss. For us, as for you, 2020 has presented unprecedented challenges, both locally and globally. Indeed, this is the only time...
by Dr. Adam Szymanski (McGill University Montreal, Canada) One of the most conspicuous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is its mediatized production of an informed citizenry. Public life has quickly become populated with new, ever-changing regulations, protocols, and prohibitions which are delivered on a daily basis through televised addresses by prominent politicians and public health...
by Prof. Dr. Johanna Pink (University of Freiburg) The uncertain future of the academic jet set 2018 was one of those years. It started out fairly harmlessly, travel-wise, but then it picked up the pace until I felt I never wanted to see another airport. In April, I went to a workshop in Abu Dhabi....
by Prof. Dr. Oliver Landmann (University of Freiburg) I. Managing the economy during the Corona crisis A deep plunge of economic activity The Corona pandemic, in conjunction with widespread lockdown measures of governments, has hit the world economy dramatically. In a June 2020 update of its World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund estimates that...
by Dr. Wai Yip Ho (the Education University of Hong Kong) End of Intimacy: What holds France in the Time of Social Ambiguity? After lifting the national lockdown caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus, France made mask-wearing mandatory in public transport and high schools. This unprecedented situation finds its symbol in masking statues all...
by Prof. Dr. Ronald G. Asch (University of Freiburg) Is it wise to make any predictions what the world will look like after Corona? Definitely not, because it is far too early to anticipate the long term impact of the crisis we are undergoing now. We do not even know whether there ever will be...
Radical changes The unprecedented Corona crisis has fundamentally changed our lives – people are dying, the threat of infection is ubiquitous, most countries are locked down. The fear whether friends, family or oneself will fall ill or even fall victim to the disease, and whether the health care systems will hold up to the challenge,...
The FRIAS blog’s aim is to complement the institute’s communication and provide a means to reach out to a broader, even non-academic public. Its editorial scope is to provide a platform for our fellows to present their research projects. Contributions will come from our community of FRIAS fellows, alumni/ae and guest researchers as well as...