There has been coverage of the disproportionate numbers of Black and ethnic minority deaths during the pandemic. Colleagues at the University of Edinburgh have written about the social determinants of covid 19 and bame disproportionality in their post for the British Sociological Association blog: Discover Society. It is important reading.
Category: Inequalities & Transitions
The transitions brought by the coronavirus pandemic are many and varied. The bottom line is that we are not ‘all in this together’ in the same way, and a sociological eye recognises the inequalities of class, gender, ethnicity, age, at work. It also recognises and interrogates those transitions and inequalities that mark the relationship between the rich north and poorer parts of the world and the patterns of exploitation and exclusion that exist. Such inequalities may be changed, but they are as likely to be exacerbated as ameliorated.
In this together? No, holding a mirror to our societies’ problems
One of the buzzwords frequently heard concerning the coronavirus pandemic is that we are ‘all in this together’. This ignores vastly experiences on grounds of gender, class, ethnicity, age and other social structural factors. It also fails to recognise the vastly different experiences of different parts of the world. An interesting account of someone returning home to China from studying at Cambridge in the UK has just been published in the University World News. Among other interesting comments, its author, Jingwen Alice Fan, suggests,
“Like many people, I used to be anxious and paranoid whenever I read bad news about COVID-19. But I soon found the pandemic was actually a great learning opportunity. COVID-19 is like a mirror. It reflects a society’s problems. It is painful to see all the hidden problems in our societies uncovered, but it is only through doing so that we can confront them and try to make our societies better.
The experience has also taught me that we should be cautious about being manipulated by the media. Critical thinking is the key. A healthy society needs different voices. This applies to every single country, but also to the international context.”
For the entire article, go here.
Covid-19 & the global intensification of inequalities
An e-symposium at UEL
Friday July 3, 2020, 3-4.30pm
Centre for Social Justice and Change, and Centre for Narrative Research, University of East London
Chair: Dr. Meera Tiwari
Presentations on and discussion about Covid-19 and its effects on economies, livelihoods, education and health, in relation to women, poor communities, and HIV positive people, in India, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, Zambia, and the UK.
Presenters: Elaine Unterhalter (UCL), Sanny Mulubale (University of Zambia), Adriana Prates (Federal University of Bahia), Corinne Squire (UEL), Meera Tiwari (UEL), and Alan Whiteside (Balsillie School of International Affairs/Wilfred Laurier University).
To attend, please book here on Eventbrite and you will then receive your invitation:
Presenters
Elaine Unterhalter is Professor of Education and International Development at the Institute of Education, UCL. She is also the Co-Director of the Centre for Education and International Development. Prof Unterhalter will be drawing on her extensive research in South Africa and Nigeria to reflect on how the Covid pandemic has impacted education for the poorest cohorts and girls in those countries.
Dr Sanny Mulubaleis a University of Zambia lecturer and researcher who obtained a PhD from UEL as a Commonwealth Scholar. Adriana Prates has extensive experience as a community health worker, researcher and activist, and is completing a PhD at the Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, brazil. Corinne Squire is Professor of Social Sciences and Co-Chair, Centre for Narrative Research, University of East London. Sanny, Corinne and Adriana will be talking about their research on Covid-19 and the intensification of lived HIV inequalities in Brazil, the UK and Zambia.
Prof Alan Whiteside is CIGI Chair in Global Health Policy, School of International Policy and Governance, Wilfrid Laurier University and Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo, Canada, and is currently on sabbatical at UEL. He will be talking about the Covid-19 responses in South Africa and how people living with HIV are being affected.
Dr. Meera Tiwari is Reader in Global Development at UE where she leads the EADI accredited Masters in NGO and Development Management. She will situate the complex impact of Covid-19 in India within her extensive research on livelihoods and multidimensional poverty in India.
