ABSTRACT

This paper reflects upon the complex relational enmeshments the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to. It does this through a critical engagement with contemporary social thought on what it means to be in relation, particularly that of radical relationism. Such an engagement is made possible by Sara Ahmed’s Strange Encounters, which unlike radical relationism, enables us to engage with power relations, the knowledge/power nexus and the role politics and ethics play in the conceptualisation of the relational subject. We begin with a brief overview of relational social theory highlighting some internal differences and Ahmed’s connection to these. The concluding sections interrogate how temporality and the theory/praxis nexus manifest themselves in these accounts of relationality.

摘要

本文反映了COVID-19大流行引起的复杂的关系关联。它是通过与当代社会思想进行批判性接触来实现的，这意味着建立关系，特别是激进关系主义。萨拉·艾哈迈德（Sara Ahmed）的《奇异遭遇》（Strange Encounters）使这种参与成为可能，与激进的关系主义不同，它使我们能够参与权力关系，知识/权力关系以及政治和道德在关系主体概念化中的作用。我们从关系社会理论的简要概述开始，着重强调一些内部差异以及艾哈迈德与这些差异的联系。结论部分探讨了时间性和理论/实践联系如何在这些关系性说明中体现出来。