Witnessing Corona – The Corona Diaries. A Joint Blog Initiative by the Global South Studies Center (GSSC), the Blog “AG Medical Anthropology” and “Curare: Journal of Medical Anthropology”
The current global condition is an unusual and almost unreal situation. A situation probably few of us have experienced before, a pandemic of truly global dimension. Stunned and astonished, we sit at home and understand little by little the extent of the crisis we are heading for, while the news tickers provide us with news about closed borders, rising infection rates and falling stock prices. This situation demonstrates with full force the imponderables and uncertainties that the future holds since, apart from a few mathematical models on possible curves of infection rates, the social, economic, and cultural consequences of this situation are as unclear as the answer to the increasingly pressing question how long this state of emergency will last. And only gradually we realize the great dangers of deep divisions this new situation carries along. These dangers not only rest in state-decreed social distancing and the closing of all kinds of barriers and boundaries. More so, they rest in egoisms, small and large. From stealing of hand sanitizers from hospitals and stockpiling of toilet paper to national unilateralism.
Besides all these negative effects we should not neglect the positive developments and signs of solidarity which are also there. Italians who start concerts from their balconies singing for and with their neighborhood. Young people offering help to older people and those in need. Personal trainers standing on rooftops in Sevilla, offering people in the surrounding flats a free workout at their windows. Chinese colleagues offering to send protective masks because they have heard that they are sold out in Germany.
What will be the consequences of the now obvious recognition that the paradigm of productivity leading to growth is truly a house of cards? The livelihood of the many people in precarious circumstances all around the world is existentially endangered. The new global situation might incline us to rethink ways of active solidarity and individual responsibility towards society. Furthermore, the current times of social distancing, seclusion and even boredom might also lead to creative new ideas.
We would like to see what the experiences with this challenging situation are in different areas of the globe: How do people experience, cope with and make sense of this situation? How do they continue with their daily lives? The Global South Studies Center is connected with many researchers all over the world. Some of them are currently on fieldwork in the Global South, others are at home, quarantined. With the Corona Diaries, we want to offer these people a platform to report about and exchange on their situation.
We do not ask for alarmist highlights, nor do we ask for voyeuristic disaster reports. Rather, this blog wishes to invite reflected and factual impressions. These can be texts, commented pictures or even video recordings.
For your contributions, please note the following:
– Please send us your contribution as word document
– the text should bear a title and contain at least one image.
– images are required to include a caption and the copyright information – we assume that you have acquired the image rights of any persons depicted.
– please send the images separately as .jpg or .png, in the highest resolution possible, and mark in your text where they should be inserted
– include a short biographic note and let us know whether you agree to the publication of your e-mail address alongside your bio, so readers can contact you directly for further discussion
Please send your contribution to: Witnessingcorona-gssc@uni-koeln.de
More information: https://boasblogs.org/witnessingcorona/
Please note that this blog is hosted by three different institutions with slightly divergent requirements. For your submission please follow the requirements listed in this document. Thank you!
