How My COVID-19 Disruption Became My Privileged Boom Time

Abstract

I was meant to spend the first half of 2020 on research study leave at the University of Cologne. My partner and I rushed back to Australia in mid-March, disrupting our plans and forcing me into a new working paradigm. The disruption wound up sending me into one of the most productive periods of my career. In this article, I reflect on how my privileges—­both earned and unearned—­have contributed to a boom in my academic work at the same time that it has wreaked havoc on the entire sector. I also reflect on how COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated inequalities in Australian universities.

Keywords

• Covid-19
• privilege
• higher education