Occupation of the „Jowita” Student Dormitory. Precarity, Mobility and the Field of Possibilities for Dissensus

Abstract

In recent years, the material conditions of students have attracted growing attention, a concern reflected, among other things, in protests taking place both in Poland and across the globe. Drawing on the concept of precarity, the author examines the living conditions of students, highlighting the progressive withdrawal of the state and the dismantling of public infrastructure. The ideal of mobility is juxtaposed with enforced hypermobility, which – paradoxically – results in rigidity and constraints. A particular focus is placed on students’ housing conditions. From this perspective, the author analyzes contemporary student protests in Poland, interpreting them as moments in which dissensus emerges – manifestations of resistance that may develop into processes enabling a further loosening of the partition of the sensible, or, conversely, become overcoded and appropriated by power.