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Our Society has always been facing challenges and crises, one of the most recent one being the COVID-19 pandemic. Today we will be exploring how ‘political cartooning’ can act as an avenue for expressing feelings, opinions and thoughts about crises, how important is the law to ‘catch-up’ with emerging needs during crises (e.g. assisted dying services) and how accumulated crises affect the way economy develops (or stalls) and how these can potentially pre-empt future crises.
Youth Perspectives and Political Cartooning on the Covid-19 Pandemic: Public Engagement through the Arts
Rebecca Harvey-Hobbs
(Artist, Creative Consultant & Project Manager)
Over the last few years, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated societal inequalities, posing specific challenges for young people. The University of Leicester’s ‘Covid in Cartoons’ project, led by Fransiska Louwagie and Di Levine, focuses on how young people can articulate their experience of the pandemic by reading and drawing political cartoons. A public art installation featuring these participant drawings has been developed by Rebecca Harvey-Hobbs from Vehicle Arts, who will discuss the links between research, arts and public engagement in the context of the Covid-19 crisis.
Covid-19 and access to assisted dying services in England
Dr Nataly Papadopoulou
( Lecturer in Law )
Assisting another individual to end their lives is a criminal offence in England. This is problematic for many individuals who want to take control of the manner and timing of their dying and eventual death. The talk is an exploration of the law on assisted suicide in England, the failed attempts to change the law, a brief overview of what is going on in other countries, and how Covid-19 has affected the already limited ‘options’ available to individuals who want to control the manner and timing of their dying and deaths.
Obsolete Capitalism and the Logic of Endless Crises
Dr Joseph Choonara
( Lecturer at the University of Leicester School of Business)
Crises have come thick and fast in recent years: the financial crisis of 2008; an escalating ecological crisis, with repeated episodes of wildfires and deadly weather events; the Covid-19 pandemic, which also precipitated economic dislocation and a cost-of-living crisis. Focusing on the economic dimension, the talk will show that these interventions tend simply to perpetuate inequality, foster instability and lead to tepid growth, while paving the way for subsequent crises to erupt.
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