In the Bible, the Apocalypse is the end of the world as we know it, but it’s also the beginning of a new one. Jennifer Wilks argues that major catastrophes can be apocalyptic in the same way. A disaster like Hurricane Katrina or the COVID-19 pandemic can shed new light on the world’s social inequalities, which makes it easier to imagine them changing. Jennifer thinks that post-apocalyptic fiction can play a role in this process, by allowing us to think ahead about times of disaster so we can act to make things better when the moment comes.
Tag: work
It’s hard to find time for undistracted reading, and it’s easy to blame modern developments like digital technology. But Christina Lupton says that people have been feeling this way for more than 200 years. For centuries, people have been struggling to balance a desire for undistracted reading with their professional and family duties. By studying past struggles to make time for reading, we can pick up strategies to apply in our own lives – and understand why finding time for reading is not just a personal but a political issue.