Doing cultural studies in rough seas

The Covid-19 ocean multiple

Bibliographic Data

ID19006097
AuthorsE Probyn (0000-0003-1847-4864, Gender & Cultural Studies, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume35
Issue2-3
Pages557-571
Publication date2021-05-04
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCultural Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0950-2386 • E-ISSN: 1466-4348
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09502386.2021.1898032
OpenAlexW3159737627
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited22

This article seeks to demonstrate what a conjunctural analysis of the oceanic manifestation of COVID-19 might look like. While the ocean has seemingly remained on the periphery during the ongoing pandemic, the marine has nevertheless been deeply affected as a space of more-than-human connection. As we know, it was at a seafood market (The Huanan Seafood Market) that the first signs of the virus allegedly emerged – an event that propelled the circulation of disgust and racism that was to follow. I take three sites: Botany Bay, Sydney; the Ruby Princess cruise ship; and the effect of COVID-19 on fish supply chains and the lives and livelihoods of fishers especially in the global south. I draw on John Clarke’s argument that ‘tracing the different dynamics and forces that come together to constitute the conjuncture is a substantial challenge’, and Meaghan Morris’ call for site-specific thinking in cultural studies. This is, I argue, a time for messy digging in the swamp of the pandemic if we are to find thin threads of hope for our more-than-human world, and our discipline

Archaeology · Commodification · Cruise · Economics · Economy · Geography · Livelihood · Pandemic · Racism · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Gender Studies · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Global Security and Public Health · History · Geology · Oceanography

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