« Relationships have changed, and we need to ask ourselves what kind of commitment might replace them. »
DAS ENDE DES ROMANTIKDIKTATS
(The End of Romance)
by Andrea Newerla
Kösel/PRH Germany, June 2023
Our relationship with other people, closeness and intimacy has fundamentally changed. This is due not only to the « safe distances » and lockdowns of the past couple of years or so, but to a social trend that has merely been intensified by the pandemic – as evidenced by rising divorce rates, an increase in polyamorous relationships, the rising number of single households and political discussions around « responsible communities ».
The concept of the romantic couple – our current gold standard for closeness and connection – is showing its cracks. Now more than ever, we ask ourselves: what kind of a relationship would make me truly happy? Sociologist Andrea Newerla examines the emergence of new relationship models, and shows how the monetisation and digitisation of the dating market is chipping away at existing norms. Yet she also reveals the opportunities that are emerging in the realm of friendship, ethics of care and chosen families.
Using original research as well as her personal experiences, Newerla inspires us to reflect more deeply on our relationships, and to ask whether there are different kinds of commitments we could be making.
Andrea Newerla is one of the best known voices in the field of intimacy research. She has a PhD in sociology and is a senior researcher at the Paris Lodron University in Salzburg, specialising in non-heteronormative intimacy, online dating and relationship patterns. Her study of intimacy behaviours during the pandemic prompted her to take a new approach to intimacy research, and her observations of changing social currents provide the basis of this book.
Pacemakers, running blades, stem cell research, life-prolonging medicine: these achievements might sound normal, but they are all part of what is called transhumanism. Transhumanism stipulates that humanity’s next evolutionary step will come about through the use of modern science and technology, but many people see it as a dangerous endeavour. They fear that it will dehumanise us, that we’ll become « cyborgised » and open ourselves up to ethically questionable genetic experiments and state-sponsored eugenics.
The catastrophe happens over coffee and cake: on a visit to his mother’s childhood friend in March 1943, Karlrobert Kreiten, a consummate 26-year-old pianist with a promising future ahead of him, claims that Germany has lost the war, and the Führer his mind. Six months after making these unguarded comments, he dies on the gallows.
When we think of wilderness, we think of places like forests filled with an abundance of wild plants – landscapes that show no trace of human civilisation. After all, man and primordial nature are mutually exclusive. In fact, though, wilderness always implies a certain tug of war between different forces: wherever we disturb the balance, nature cannot take its course, and what remains isn’t wilderness, but an impoverished landscape – even if we leave nature to its own devices. Even now, the forests we once exploited contain just a fraction of the animals, plants and fungi that once existed there. Why is that? Biologist and filmmaker Haft examines flawed ideas, proposes a new way of conceiving of wilderness, and explains how – if we wanted to – we could easily and cheaply create new animal-friendly, sustainable and diverse landscapes.
Turtles can do amazing things: some can dive to more than 1,000 metres, others transport organisms across the seas (and thus contribute to their distribution), others act as « architects of the oceans » by helping to spread coral reefs along the sea bed. All have impressive « super-senses », which mean they’re able to return to the beaches where they were born – often decades later, and from thousands of kilometres away. They orient themselves by the earth’s magnetic field, as well as their sense of smell, which allows them to recognise the scent of their first beach.