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Turning Crisis into Opportunities : New Insights for Academic Experiences During the Pandemic Inspired from a Cultural-Historical and Activity Theory Perspective in an Autoethnography
Yu, Suxiang
Yu, Suxiang
Author
Abstract
The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed many academic practices and situations that used to be taken for granted, leaving academia in a state of shock and chaos. As an individual who tried to meet new demands brought by the changing academic environment, I also experienced a sense of crisis. However, as I tried to meet those new demands, I developed new capabilities and employable skills. In this chapter, I will present selected accounts of my personal experiences in academia, both as a Ph.D. candidate and a higher education teacher during the pandemic. Cultural-historical and activity theory concepts, such as the concept of activity and the concept of crisis, are used to provide analytical insights into my experiences. The new insights helped me shift my perception of crises as something negative to opportunities and potential for development. It is argued that the concepts of activity and crisis can be useful conceptual tools to transform our way of perceiving crises and thus find new developmental conditions for ourselves in challenging situations.
Keywords
Crisis, Cultural-historical theory, Activity theory, Ph.D. candidate, Autoethnography, Adults’ personal development, COVID-19
Date
2023
Type
Book chapter
Journal
Book
Research and Teaching in a Pandemic World: The Challenges of Establishing Academic Identities During Times of Crisis
Volume
Issue
Page Range
303-314
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Collections
Relation URI
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled
Notes
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.