Viral Critique

This book brings together papers that employ postfoundational theory to critically investigate the social, political, economic and ecological dynamics and power structures that shaped Western democracies, non-Western societies and international politics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted not only social relations and personal lives across the globe, but also the landscape of postfoundational theory. Giorgio Agamben, one of its most prominent figures, attracted harsh criticism for his suggestion that the pandemic was nothing but an invented tool of state power. In the face of a collectively experienced emergency, it seemed tempting to forgo critical questioning in favour of taking action on a manifestly real, viral threat. Resisting this temptation, this volume makes the case that COVID-19 has rendered postfoundational critique urgently necessary. The chapters collected here use postfoundational theory to unpack the pandemic’s global social event beyond dominant narratives of unprecedentedness, exception and necessity. The authors explore where the pandemic has actually altered political, social and economic dynamics. But they also highlight where divisions, inequalities and expropriation continued unchanged, or even reinforced, throughout and after the COVID-19 event. The chapters apply, scrutinise and re-work the writings of postfoundational thinkers from Jacques Derrida, Roberto Esposito and Gilles Deleuze to Jasbir Puar to both offer a better understanding of the pandemic’s social reality and to draw from it visions for a different post-pandemic future. Viral Critique will be a key resource for academics, researchers, and advanced students of Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology, Economics and Cultural Studies. The chapters included in this book were originally published as a special issue of Distinktion: Journal of Social Theory.

Critique has long been a central concept within art practice and theory. Since the emergence of Conceptual Art, artists have been expected by critics, curators, and art school faculty to focus their work on exposing and debunking ideologies of power and domination. Recently, however, the effectiveness of cultural critique has come into question. The appearance of concepts such as the "speculative," the "reparative," and the "constructive" suggests an emerging postcritical paradigm. Beyond Critique takes stock of the current discourse around this issue. With some calling for a renewed criticality and others rejecting the model entirely, the book's contributors explore a variety of new and recently reclaimed criteria for contemporary art and its pedagogy. Some propose turning toward affect and affirmation; others seek to reclaim such allegedly discredited concepts as intimacy, tenderness, and spirituality. With contributions from artists, critics, curators and historians, this book provides new ways of thinking about the historical role of critique while also exploring a wide range of alternative methods and aspirations. Beyond Critique will be a crucial tool for students and instructors who are seeking to think and work beyond the critical.

Gendertrolling arises out of the same misogyny that fuels other "real life" forms of harassment and abuse of women. This book explains this phenomenon, the way it can impact women's lives, and how it can be stopped. Designed to educate the general public on a popular and brutal form of harassment against women, Gendertrolling: How Misogyny Went Viral provides key insight into this Internet phenomenon. The book not only differentiates this violent form of trolling from others but also discusses the legal parameters surrounding the issue, such as privacy, anonymity, and free speech online as well as offering legal and policy recommendations for improving the climate for women online. The analysis of social media and legal aspects of the book make it highly suitable as a reliable source to many modern classes. Additionally, increased awareness among the general and scholarly public of the phenomenon of gendertrolling would help galvanize widespread support for laws, policies, new online content provider protocols, and positive social pressure.

A trenchant look at how the coronavirus reveals the dangerous fault lines of contemporary society With medical mysteries, rising death tolls, and conspiracy theories beamed minute by minute through the vast web universe, the coronavirus pandemic has irrevocably altered societies around the world. In this sharp essay, world-renowned philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy interrogates the many meanings and metaphors we have assigned to the pandemic—and what they tell us about ourselves. Drawing on the philosophical tradition from Plato and Aristotle to Lacan and Foucault, Lévy asks uncomfortable questions about reality and mythology: he rejects the idea that the virus is a warning from nature, the inevitable result of global capitalism; he questions the heroic status of doctors, asking us to think critically about the loci of authority and power; he challenges the panicked polarization that dominates online discourse. Lucid, incisive, and always original, Lévy takes a bird’s-eye view of the most consequential historical event of our time and proposes a way to defend human society from threats to our collective future.

"Chan and Ridley write with an urgency...that inspires gripping depictions of what viruses are, how infectious-disease laboratories work and wonderfully lucid descriptions of bats. . . . They powerfully recount how dangerous pathogens can both leak from a lab and emerge in nature." (New York Times Book Review) Understanding how Covid-19 started is crucial for the future of humankind. Viral is the most incisive and authoritative book about the search for the source of the virus. A new virus descended on the human species in 2019 wreaking unprecedented havoc. Finding out where it came from and how it first jumped into people is an urgent priority, but early expectations that this would prove an easy question to answer have been dashed. Nearly two years into the pandemic, the crucial mystery of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is not only unresolved but has deepened. In this uniquely insightful book, a scientist and a writer join forces to try to get to the bottom of how a virus whose closest relations live in bats in subtropical southern China somehow managed to begin spreading among people more than 1,500 kilometres away in the city of Wuhan. They grapple with the baffling fact that the virus left none of the expected traces that such outbreaks usually create: no infected market animals or wildlife, no chains of early cases in travellers to the city, no smouldering epidemic in a rural area, no rapid adaptation of the virus to its new host—human beings. To try to solve this pressing mystery, Viral delves deep into the events of 2019 leading up to 2021, the details of what went on in animal markets and virology laboratories, the records and data hidden from sight within archived Chinese theses and websites, and the clues that can be coaxed from the very text of the virus’s own genetic code. The result is a gripping detective story that takes the reader deeper and deeper into a metaphorical cave of mystery. One by one the authors explore promising tunnels only to show that they are blind alleys, until, miles beneath the surface, they find themselves tantalisingly close to a shaft that leads to the light.

In this electrifying medical thriller from New York Times bestselling author Robin Cook, a family’s exposure to a rare yet deadly virus ensnares them in a growing danger to mankind—and pulls back the curtain on a healthcare system powered by profit and greed. Trying to find some normalcy during the Covid-19 pandemic, Brian Murphy and his family are on a summer excursion in Cape Cod when his wife, Emma, comes down with concerning flu-like symptoms. But their leisurely return home to New York City quickly becomes a race to the local hospital as she suddenly begins seizing in the car. At the ICU, she is diagnosed with eastern equine encephalitis, a rare and highly lethal mosquito-borne viral disease seemingly caught during one of their evening cookouts. Complicating the situation further, Brian and Emma’s young daughter then begins to exhibit alarming physical and behavioral symptoms, too. Emma’s harrowing hospital stay turns even more fraught when Brian receives a staggering hospital bill full of outrageous charges and murky language. To add insult to injury, his health insurance company refuses to cover any of the cost, citing dubious clauses in Brian’s policy. Forced to choose between the ongoing care of family and bills he can never pay, and furious at a shockingly indifferent healthcare system, Brian vows to seek justice. But to get to the bottom of the predatory practices targeting his loved ones and countless others, he must uncover the dark side of an industry that has strayed drastically from its altruistic roots—and bring down the callous executives preying on the sick and defenseless before the virus can claim even more people . . .

In Alisha Rai’s second novel in her Modern Love series, a reclusive investor goes viral, shoving her into the world's spotlight—and into the arms of the bodyguard she’s been pining for… OMG! Wouldn’t it be adorable if he’s her soulmate??? I don’t see any wedding rings Breaking: #CafeBae and #CuteCafeGirl went to the bathroom AT THE SAME TIME!!! One minute, Katrina King’s enjoying an innocent conversation with a random guy at a coffee shop; the next, a stranger has live-tweeted the entire encounter with a romantic meet-cute spin and #CafeBae has the world swooning. Going viral isn't easy for anyone, but Katrina has painstakingly built a private world for herself, far from her traumatic past. Besides, everyone has it all wrong...that #CafeBae bro? He isn't the man she's hungry for. He's got a to die for. With the internet on the hunt for the identity of #CuteCafeGirl, Jas Singh, bodyguard and possessor of the most beautiful eyebrows Katrina's ever seen, offers his family's farm as a refuge. Alone with her unrequited crush feels like a recipe for hopeless longing, but Katrina craves the escape. She's resigned to being just friends with Jas--until they share a single electrifying kiss. Now she can't help but wonder if her crush may not be so unrequited after all...

In this volume, what are thought to be some of the more important aspects of the Dodd–Frank Act are discussed from a number of perspectives, including that of industry scholars who have been actively involved in evaluating financial regulation, regulators who are responsible for implementing the reform, financial policy experts representing think tanks and banking trade associations, congressmen and congressional staff involved with developing the legislation, and legal scholars. The volume summarizes the act, evaluates how the new regulations are being implemented and how the implementation process is progressing, and discusses modifications that, in the views of the authors, might be needed to more effectively achieve the stated goals of the legislation. Contents:Introduction and Summary of the Act:The Dodd–Frank Act: An Overview (Douglas D Evanoff and William F Moeller)Critical Assessment of the Act:Regulating Wall Street: The Dodd–Frank Act (Matthew Richardson)Financial Stability via Regulation:Financial Stability Regulation (Daniel K Tarullo)Implementing Dodd-Frank: Identifying and Mitigating Systemic Risk (Mark Van Der Weide)Implementing the Dodd–Frank Act: Progress to Date and Recommendations for the Future (Scott D O'Malia)Dodd–Frank Act Implementation: Well Into It and No Further Ahead (Wayne A Abernathy)Financial Stability via Efficient Failure Resolution:We Must Resolve to End Too-Big-To-Fail (Sheila C Bair)The Orderly Liquidation of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Under the Dodd–Frank Act (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)Implementing Dodd–Frank: Orderly Resolution (Martin J Gruenberg)Resolving Globally Active, Systemically Important, Financial Institutions (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Bank of England)An Alternative View: Financial Stability via Bank Breakups:Do SIFIs Have a Future? (Thomas M Hoenig)Ending Taxpayer-Funded Bailouts: Dodd–Frank Promises More Than It Can Deliver (Richard W Fisher and Harvey Rosenblum)Solving the Too-Big-To-Fail Problem (William C Dudley)Consumer Protection:Partnering: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and State Attorneys General (Richard Cordray)Prepared Remarks Before the National Association of Attorneys General (Richard Cordray)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The Solution or the Problem? (Brenden D Soucy)Was Dodd–Frank Necessary? Needed?:The Financial Crisis and “Too-Big-To-Fail” (Barney Frank and the Minority Staff of the House Financial Services Committee)A Dissent From the Majority Report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (Peter J Wallison) Readership: Financial economists, as reading material for beginner to intermediate courses in Finance and Economics for undergraduates and MBA students, general public, and policy makers interested in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010). Key Features:A dynamic read on a very topical and controversial subject — the Dodd-Frank ActContributors from various fields and each provides a different perspective of the formation, implementation and improvements for the Dodd-Frank ActBrings together in one volume the relevant people to discuss the most important policy issues affecting the financial services industryCombines both academic and industry positions on the topic in a readable formatKeywords:Dodd-Frank;Financial Regulation;Macroprudential Regulation;Systemic Risk;Volcker Rule;Resolution Authority;Consumer Protection;Central Clearinghouses (CCPs)