Nu \u00e4r det snarare som om ingen av de h\u00e4r alternativen st\u00e5r buds, eller i alla fall inte kan g\u00f6ra n\u00e5gon n\u00e4mnv\u00e4rd skillnad. <\/span>I en s\u00e5dan situation \u00e4r det sv\u00e5rt att hitta n\u00e5got som k\u00e4nns meningsfullt att f\u00f6rmedla, som om inget man s\u00e4ger egentligen r\u00f6r vid sj\u00e4lva grundfr\u00e5gan. Allt blir missriktade randkommentarer. Vad kan jag som dekan s\u00e4ga i en situation som skuggas av en pandemi?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jag \u00f6gnade nyss igenom den unga amerikanska f\u00f6rfattarens Ocean Vuongs bok Night sky with exit wounds<\/i>. Jag orkade inte riktigt koncentrera mig p\u00e5 boken och blev ist\u00e4llet och stirra p\u00e5 en sida som var annorlunda. Den var tom s\u00e5 n\u00e4r som p\u00e5 n\u00e5gra siffror som var utsl\u00e4ngda \u00f6ver sidan under diktens titel \u201dSeventh circle of Earth\u201d \u2013 och sedan ett antal fotnoter nere p\u00e5\u00a0 sidan. <\/span><\/p>\n Dikten framstod som absurd, som ett poetisk tilltal som jag varken f\u00f6rstod eller orkade arbeta mig in i.<\/span><\/p>\n Ocean Vuong hade med en dikt \u201dSeventh circle of Earth\u201d ursprungligen velat f\u00e5nga sin k\u00e4nsla \u00f6ver en f\u00f6rkrossande och grym h\u00e4ndelse som kom honom n\u00e4ra. Titeln anspelar p\u00e5 Dantes verk Inferno och han hade velat ta sin utg\u00e5ngspunkt i den texten. <\/span><\/p>\n Men han lyckades inte. Han kom till korta. F\u00f6rst n\u00e5gra \u00e5r sedan f\u00f6ll allt p\u00e5 plats men d\u00e5 som en tom sida med n\u00e5gra fotnoter: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis time, the vast and utter emptiness one confronts on the page felt more faithful to the violent erasure\u2026 It felt right to begin the poem with its own vanishing.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Det \u00e4r s\u00e5 nu ocks\u00e5. Att greppa och hantera situationen lyckas inte fullt ut. Det blir fel. Orden blir fel. V\u00e5ra f\u00f6rs\u00f6k att handskas med situationen blir fel. \u00c5A:s angreppss\u00e4tt blir fel. Eller \u00e5tminstone kan man s\u00e4ga att det inte blir r\u00e4tt.<\/span><\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Currently, nothing seems to address the situation we face adequately. Rector informed us recently that students and employees will continue their work off campus throughout the academic year, probably until the summer. <\/span><\/p>\n We do not want this. We cannot see how to make any good out of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Nonetheless, Rector\u2019s decision is a good decision. It means that we well in advance know what will come. It allows us to look ahead. Many people have called for this possibility, being tired of the past last-minute instructions we have been forced to live with due to circumstances. <\/span><\/p>\n The fact that the we do not know how to cope and adjust with the challenges of the coming year is not something that follows from Rector\u2019s decision.<\/span><\/p>\n Chair of the Board of the Student Union Matias Martelin makes a very valid claim with reference to Rector’s decision. We will need to find and create more hybrid solutions for the coming periods and we will have to include a larger group of students in this and not only first year students. The situation is critical, he writes with reference to student\u2019s declining motivation, study progress and general wellbeing. <\/span><\/p>\n I agree with Matias and I am also increasingly concerned with the situation of teachers and administrative staff. The work Matias calls for needs to start know and it needs to engage student, teachers and admin staff. We are all in the same boat, meaning that we all suffer from not trying and we all benefit from the solutions and possibilities we may find. <\/span><\/p>\n Looking ahead, what can we make out of the harsh work situation that we live with now? <\/span><\/p>\n For instance, Rector\u2019s recent decision will make it possible and easier for students to gather in small groups and work together on campus. Can this be a small vehicle of change towards the better? Personally, I pay attention to the fact that nothing is decided about teacher\u2019s participation in these groups. It is not required neither forbidden. <\/span><\/p>\n Does this open a possibility to further explore tutorials as part of hybrid courses during the spring terms? Can this help us reorganise some of our teaching and maybe better stay on track?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The current situation also requires us to adopt to new practices. Employees and students use masks indoors on campus. This is the current recommendation and it means that we can encourage each other to do so. We also need to be understanding if someone reminds us or others about this. We know that there are exceptions to this recommendation, but together we create a safe workplace where everyone feels safe. Someone’s health might be dependent on our practice.<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, none of us can really say or do anything conclusive in a world paralysed by a pandemic. Our small world, a university, is not different. The poem by Ocean Vuong \u2013 an empty page with footnotes \u2013 catches our situation well. The author had to withdraw to writing nothing and felt that this was the most honest response. Yet, along this road he found some form of emerging agency. The marginal notes, the foot notes, grew into meaningful words.<\/span><\/p>\n This is probably also our possibility. Marginal and insufficient thoughts and practices maybe remain our only means to find change. The directions they give might sometimes be wrong, but doing this together, students and employees, can at least maybe reinforce part of the working community we need right now.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (also in English below) Jag har sv\u00e5rt att f\u00e5 grepp om situationen vi arbetar i just nu vid \u00c5bo Akademi. Vanligen kan man relatera till det man k\u00e4mpar med p\u00e5 ett mera p\u00e5tagligt s\u00e4tt. Ibland har jag kunnat protestera och … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs2.abo.fi\/dekanfhpt\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/165\/2020\/11\/IMG_4743-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n