Spatio-Temporal Translations

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, access to space has been strictly regulated and restricted. Many of us feel acutely disconnected from our relationships, while at the same time new forms of (virtual) intimacies have become ubiquitous. In the pandemic present, nearly all interpersonal relations are now characterised by a double absence that is concrete and material, and also emotional and felt. This article offers a theoretical reflection on how conditions of absence create new practices of intimacy and new strategies of coping. It does so by discussing how pre-pandemic emotional repertoires are translated into new forms of intimacy that can synchronise or throw out of sync. It highlights the centrality of spatial and temporal relations under absence in uncovering new mediated practices.

Who We Test For: Aligning Relational and Public Health Responsibilities in COVID-19 Testing in Scotland

“…“I don’t want other people to think that I was responsible for passing it on because of my negligence, if you like, or my lack of care, or my lack of effort,” Alan, a facilities worker, summarized. While tensions emerged between trying to care for proximate others, and trying to safeguard them from viral transmission – where the risks associated with touch, shared breath or any act of co-presence could breach established social norms (Baffelli and Schröer 2021 ,; Douglas 2021 ) – testing offered a temporary solution to some of the ethical and relational dangers of pandemic living.…”