Stefan Weidner Virus and Terror

What effects does the coronavirus pandemic have on real living conditions worldwide? How does the global function in the local? Under the title Issues at Stake and in cooperation with the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, the Akademie der Künste der Welt (Academy of the Arts of the World, ADKDW) brings together texts on the worldwide situation since early 2020 written by its members. The ADKDW is a Cologne-based non-profit cultural institution that moves beyond the Eurocentric doctrines of cultural history; it initiates, produces and organizes events in various artistic and discursive fields. The members – national and international artists, curators, authors and scholars – function as a think tank and provide the framework for the ADKDW‘s artistic program.

Safety is the core issue, but the rhetoric of war is still the popular rallying call. Stefan Weidner, author, translator and Arabic literature scholar, discusses how policy measures to combat the virus crisis, and the post-9/11 mantra of the ‘war on terror’, mirror and complement each other.

The essay Virus und Terror by Stefan Weidner was published in a shortend version. You can download the text in full length as pdf file.

Author: Stefan Weidner
Translation: Romy Fursland

2 pages
English

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The essay has been produced and published in cooperation with the discourse platform VITA ACTIVA of the global° - Festival für grenzüberschreitende Literatur.