Humanities and Social Science Researchers Respond to Covid-19

The Editors | 13.07.2020

Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, humanities and social science scholars share their thoughts on the crisis in a series of think pieces and video talks collected here.

While the quest for a coronavirus vaccine is dominating the headlines, it’s becoming more and more obvious that biomedical science alone can’t provide all the answers to the Covid-19 crisis.

We therefore gathered a group of social science and humanities scholars and invited them to reflect on the pandemic from their own area-specific perspectives. With their contributions we’ve created two digital collections of short and timely think pieces on the Corona pandemic, one focusing on social science perspectives, the second one on humanities responses to the crisis.

Furthermore, for our digital lecture series “De Gruyter Corona Talks: Thinking in a State of Exception” we invited scholars from various disciplines to talk about different intellectual approaches to take when trying to understand the effects of the global pandemic.

You’ll find the two digital collections, all articles, as well as video recordings of our Corona Talks on this page – everything is free to read, download and watch!

Social Science Perspectives on Covid-19
Humanities Perspectives on Covid-19
De Gruyter Corona Talks

2 Digital Collections On Covid-19

These two edited collections are free to download as PDFs by clicking on the cover. All essays are listed below.

Gerhard Boomgaarden (ed.)12 Social Science Perspectives on the PandemicInternational social science thought leaders reflect on Covid-19

Rabea Rittgerodt (ed.)13 Humanities Perspectives on the PandemicThinking in a state of exception

Twelve scholars in the field of social science reflect on the societal impact of Covid-19 and provide an overview of some of the major issues: a snapshot of thinking on past pandemics, the impact on health and tourism, and the changing requirements of the welfare states. Fundamentally, they ask: how will the brave new post-Covid-19 world look like?

Bryan S. TurnerIs Covid-19 Part of History’s Eternal Danse Macabre?The trail of human misery left by diseases and disasters has been intense. What do these events mean for society and its future?

Ingrid PillerCovid-19 Forces Us to Take Linguistic Diversity Seriously In a time of crisis, how can we influence behaviour change and ensure international cooperation in a multilingual world?

Gurminder K. BhambraCovid-19 Is Deepening Postcolonial Global InequalitiesThe Covid-19 pandemic reveals global inequalities that are a consequence of European colonialism.

Bent GrevePreparing Welfare States in the Age of Covid-19How will our welfare states respond – and be forced to respond – to the economic effects of Covid-19?

Jillian RicklyThe Effects of Covid-19 on the Tourism Industry Will Linger Long After Lockdowns Are EasedAfter the immediate travel restrictions have been eased, the effects of Covid-19 on tourism won’t easily be lifted.

Stephanie Walsh MatthewsDon’t Confuse Constraints with Confinement during COVID-19Will the words we choose and the thought processes that accompany them help us through this crisis?

Stephanie J. NawynThe Social Problems of Protecting Refugees during Covid-19How do we protect refugees during the pandemic, and can the field of ‘humanitarian engineering’ help us?

Deborah LuptonWhy Social Research is Urgently Needed in Times of Covid-19Social research is urgently needed to detail people’s experiences of life during the pandemic, how different countries and governments are responding to the crisis and what social changes are happening.

Monika BuescherHow Covid-19 is Transforming MobilityIf the coronavirus has meant less air pollution, an increase in cycling and walking and an upsurge in birds singing in the trees, why isn’t anyone talking about it?

Anthony ElliottWhat Future for Post-Coronavirus Societies?Institutions and individuals across the globe have already creatively responded to huge challenges to reshape social activities and everyday lives.

Sharon VarneyCovid-19: Engaging with Complexity — If Not Now, When?In a period of uncertainty will ‘complexity science’ lead the way in helping us make sense of the the constantly shifting adjustments people make in the natural cycle of the world?

Robert van KriekenCovid-19 and the Civilizing ProcessAre infectious diseases a central feature of the civilizing process and how can the form taken by this process help to improve control over those diseases?

Humanities Perspectives On Covid-19

In thirteen essays, humanities scholars reflect on the Covid-19 pandemic by looking into similar crises from the past, emphasizing the importance of memory when dealing with traumatic events, and asking questions like: How do we approach life during a health crisis? Will life as we know it change dramatically when this is all over? Will digitization be a major focus from now on? And how does white privilege play into the way we perceive the pandemic?

Thomas ZimmerPandemics in History: Global Solidarity is the Only Way ForwardHistory reminds us that when faced with global challenges, we need to resist the urge to focus on national solidarities.

Tue SøvsøStoic Responses to the Covid-19 PandemicFamed for their ability to cope with crises, Greek and Roman Stoics offer an intriguing perspective on the challenging questions facing us.

Ida MilneLong-Term Impacts of the 1918–19 InfluenzaThe Spanish flu is often mentioned as the nearest comparator to the current pandemic. Can its stories inform surviving Covid-19?

Viv NewmanCovid-19 and World War One Nursing“What we haven’t got we invent, and what we can’t invent, we do without”. This statement by a British nurse in 1916 still holds true.

Susan ArndtWhite Privilege in the Time of COVID-19The coronavirus pandemic is turning the tables on the prosperous, privileged, white West, in a way that seems to upset many.

Doris Bachmann-MedickThe Humanities – Marginalized After Corona?A crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic that affects the very core of human existence could also endanger the existence of the humanities and the study of culture.

Merle EisenbergDangerous Comparisons: Historical Pandemics and Covid-19Why one-size-fits-all comparisons between Covid-19 and other pandemics in history don’t work in most cases.

Marc GrimmAntisemitism on Social Media in Times of CoronaAntisemitic myths and conspiracy theories meet the demand for narratives that promise knowledge — a demand that is growing in times of crisis and uncertainty.

Astrid ErllWill Covid-19 Become Part of Collective Memory?How has collective memory shaped our experience of the corona pandemic? And what will we remember about Covid-19 in the future?

Irene KacandesHow Co-Witnessing Could Transform the Post-Pandemic WorldDuring Covid-19, the whole world is experiencing the same storm, but groups of us are in very different kinds of boats trying to weather it.

Hannes BajohrInjustice in the Era of Covid-19In the Covid-19 crisis, misfortune becomes injustice, as inaction makes governments passively unjust.

Uwe SchütteW.G. Sebald and the Natural History of Covid-19What might W.G. Sebald (1944–2001) – one of the most important literary voices of the late 20th century – have said about Covid-19?

Costas TsiamisFrom Justinianic Plague to Covid-19: A Timeless Story?The news of SARS-CoV-2 spreading across the world and quarantine measures bring back to mind the terrible scourges of the past.

De Gruyter Corona Talks

In our digital lecture series “De Gruyter Corona Talks: Thinking in a State of Exception” we talk with scholars from various disciplines about the different intellectual approaches to take when trying to understand the effects of this global pandemic. The lectures take place every Thursday at 6pm CET on De Gruyter’s YouTube channel.

In his talk, Thomas Zimmer from the University of Freiburg explores whether and how history can teach us how to deal with COVID-19: