Does Impact Reinforce the Boundary Between the Academy and the World?

Abstract

The ongoing pandemic has made everyone extremely conscious of space, both as a reality and a metaphor. In light of this, this article takes a critical approach to the construction of space in the discourse of “impact” and “public engagement,” using parallels with the study of Russian culture in the twentieth century to argue that attempts to overcome a perceived barrier between academics and non-academics can serve to essentialise and reinforce this division.