Greenwashing is when a company or organization promotes itself as more environmentally friendly than it is, often through marketing or branding, in order to attract consumers who prioritize sustainability.

Now that Doja Cat, Ariana, Camila, Cardi B, Kehlani and Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé have had number ones with songs about being clothes, sexy, wearing no clothes, fucking, cheating etc - can I please go back to singing about being embodied, feeling beautiful by being in love even if the relationship is not perfect, or dancing for money - or whatever I want -without being crucified or saying that I'm glamorizing abuse??????

Im fed up with female writers and alt singers saying that I glamorize abuse when in reality I'm just a glamorous person singing about the realities of what we are all now seeing are very prevalent emotionally abusive relationships all over the world. With all of the topics women are finally allowed to explore I just want to say over the last ten years I think it's pathetic exploration that my minor lyrical exploration detailing my sometimes submissive or passive roles in my relationships has often made people say Ive set women back hundreds of years." - Lana Del Ray, ‘Question for the Culture’

Context Slide 1: "In pregnancy, you become strange to yourself, estranged from who you once were, from what your body used to be or mean or contain, so that your body turns into something that you no longer fully understand. In pregnancy, the distinction you once knew between self and other comes undone." -Lily Gurton-Wachter 

Context Slide 2: Experiences of pregnancy, maternity, and child-rearing have historically been absent from literature. In fact, Rivka Galchen writes in Little Labors, ""literature has more dogs than babies"". 

Context Slide 3: “If motherhood is an obliteration or disintegration of the self, then how can that erased mother write? Here’s the catch: I cannot hold my baby at the same time as I write." - Maggie Nelson "" 

Context Slide 4: “Don't extreme experiences radically alter the self, and in that alteration creates the possibility of narrativisation by producing new languages, metaphors, knowledges, experiences and hitherto unknown ways of thinking? [A] baby literally makes space where there wasn’t space before." - Maggie Nelson

False consciousness describes a condition where people fail to recognise inequality, oppression, and exploitation in society due to dominant views that normalise and legitimise these injustices.

Omelas is a city where everyone is happy and contented. No one is poor, starving, sad, or upset. There are no crimes that occur and no conflicts or corruption to be seen. However, in the basement of one of the buildings, a sickly child is locked up. The happiness of Omelas is contingent on the child’s suffering. Any kindness or sympathy towards the child, apart from minimal food and drink, will cause the society of Omelas to decay and collapse. Everyone knows of this child.

Prison unionisation refers to efforts by incarcerated individuals to form or join labor unions

In July 2024, Bangladesh erupted in nationwide protests dubbed the "July Revolution," triggered by long-simmering discontent over Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, which opposition groups accuse of electoral manipulation, economic mismanagement, and authoritarian crackdowns. Protesters—led by students, labor unions, and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)—demanded the government’s resignation, fair elections, and reversal of IMF-backed austerity measures that slashed fuel and food subsidies, exacerbating inflation and unemployment. The resulting violence led to the vandalization of administrative buildings and Sheikh Hasina's house, along with monuments of the Founder of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rehnman.

The Lee Kuan Yew Singapore Model refers to the policies that transformed Singapore from a third-world to first-world economy within a generation, combining authoritarian meritocracy (one-party dominance by a technocratic elite), state capitalism (government control of key industries), and increased carcerality (strict laws regulating behavior). 

While there was rapid GDP growth, 96% home ownership, and global ease of business, the model restricted political and press freedoms and exacerbated inequality. 

 Blitzscaling is a strategy and set of techniques for driving and managing extremely rapid growth that prioritize speed over efficiency in an environment of uncertainty. It involves scaling as quickly as possible with the goal of taking market share and outpacing the competition.

"Inheritance for all" or a state-guaranteed inheritance is a hypothetical policy by economist Thomas Piketty that stipulates each citizen would receive a guaranteed inheritance from the state at the age of 25. The value of the inheritance would depend on the net worth of the average citizen's property in that country, and in turn, would be 60% of that same average value. In France, for example, this sum would be €120,000, whereas in Estonia it would be €60,000.

Pregnancy tourism, also known as birth tourism, is the practice of traveling to another country to give birth, often for the purpose of obtaining citizenship or residency for the child. Reasons for pregnancy tourism include: wanting specific racial features in their children,  birthright citizenship (jus soli) to individuals born on its soil,  specific medical procedures or better prenatal care.

Transableism refers to a need or desire to undergo impairment, for example through amputation. According to Sean O'Connor, who coined the term, "transabled" simply refers to someone who ‘wants’ to be disabled. It is most commonly read as a paraphilic practise, wherein paraphilia refers to a desire for something deemed pathological or at least thoroughly unhealthy. And it is mostly understood as emanating from a feeling of having being born in a wrong, non-disabled body.

The hukou system is a household registration system in China that categorizes citizens as either rural or urban residents based on their birthplace and lineage. It puts people into two buckets: urban and rural residents. Rural residents that move to urban areas do not have the same rights, public services and benefits as urban residents. This system was established in 1958 to manage migration and prevent overcrowding in cities and the development of slums.  

India faces significant challenges in emergency healthcare access and timely ambulance services. Blinkit, a leading quick-commerce platform, recently piloted a 10-minute ambulance service in Gurugram. This initiative leverages technology and logistics expertise to ensure rapid dispatch and arrival of Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances, equipped with essential emergency equipment and trained staff. 

 North Sentinel Island, part of Andaman and Nicobar, is inhabited by the Sentinelese, one of the world’s most isolated Indigenous communities. Having lived on the island for thousands of years, the Sentinelese maintain a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle. While they have historically responded with hostility to outside contact, this resistance is not rooted in innate aggression but rather a deep mistrust of external disruption.

The Indian government, recognizing the vulnerability of the Sentinelese, has designated North Sentinel Island as a tribal reserve, prohibiting travel within 3 nautical miles and deploying armed patrols to enforce this protection. Photography and direct interaction are strictly banned. Still, certain observations—like the reuse of metal from shipwrecks and occasional non-violent sightings of the tribe near the coast—suggest a latent capacity of the Sentinelese to engage with the changing world, albeit on their own terms and timelines.

Life Gives You Tangerines (A South Korean drama) follows the life of Ae-Sun, a resilient woman from Jeju Island who abandons her dreams of becoming a poet to prioritize her daughter Geum-myeong. Geum grows up unaware of the depth of her mother’s sacrifices, and the series highlights the emotional disconnect that can arise when children are shielded from the truth.

In The Handmaid's Tale, Offred, a handmaid in the dystopian regime of Gilead, faces immense oppression, including being forced into sexual servitude for the purpose of reproduction. The Commander is a part of Gilead’s ruling class and is assigned to Offred. Over time, Offred and the Commander develop a complex, secretive relationship that extends beyond mere duty. The affair provides Offred with privileges, but it also comes with great personal cost, including a loss of autonomy and the moral implications of engaging with a member of the regime that oppresses her.

  Gen Z (born 1997–2012) is increasingly characterized by emotional detachment (nonchalance) and declining passion—evidenced by trends like "quiet quitting," and the rejection of hustle culture. This stems from economic precarity (stagnant wages, unaffordable housing), existential threats (climate anxiety, pandemic trauma), and digital saturation (misinformation, cybercrime).

a blackout week refers to a week where all non-essential online services  (social media sites, streaming services) are shut down for personal, non-emergency use. For example, individuals would still be able to call hospitals and banks but would not be able to watch Netflix series.

Blueskies research refers to scientific research that is curiosity driven rather than focused on immediate practical outcomes or commercial benefits

Indian English Literature refers to work written in English (example Midnight's Children, God of Small Things) by Indian writers as opposed to translated works which are written in a local Indian language and then translated to English (Jhoothan, Tamas). 1991 marked the LPG reforms in India

Uloop is an unmonitored platform for university students to list, rate, and review their professors, based on the "overall quality and "level of difficulty". Students can also post additional information or comments (eg. if attendance was mandatory, what grade they received in the course).