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CLARA FABIAN-THEROND
As a medical anthropology PhD student my plan was to start ethnographic research, examining the socio-cultural impact of personalised therapeutics in the NHS colorectal and ovarian cancer treatment setting, in late spring. The arrival of coronavirus in the UK, however, halted this planned start date. Instead, over the last three or so months I have been at home working and thinking about how Covid-19 is impacting cancer patients and health professionals at the forefront of these developments.
MAR脥A FLORENCIA BLANCO ESMORIS
La Matanza, Buenos Aires, Argentina
GEGER RIYANTO
The COVID-19 pandemic is certainly far from over in Indonesia. In fact, as I write this piece (June 6th), the COVID-19 infections are constantly escalating. Each day we set a new record of infection numbers. However, many people do not feel like we are approaching a critical juncture of the pandemic. The public, for one, is not as vigilant compared to the first weeks after the first and second infections announced by the President.
GRAHAM WILKES
The definition of a 鈥楽ingularity鈥� is something with 鈥榓n unusual or distinctive manner or behaviour鈥�. Something, or an event, that is 鈥榦ut of the ordinary鈥�. Something that can be perceived to be so rare that it doesn鈥檛 warrant serious consideration, even though its impact may be devastating. So, does that mean that we shouldn鈥檛 be prepared for such events? If not, why not? Are 鈥楽ingularities鈥� real, or merely constructs of a risk-averse human culture?
PARAS ARORA
How does one write about social isolation, mental health issues, and care work-induced fatigue in a local context already scarred with abandonment, loneliness and chronic caregiving? In what ways has the pandemic entered these contexts and what can we gain by attending to the pandemic鈥檚 mode of entry into already fragile lives?
MARTA ABATEPAULO DE FARIA
Considered the most severe respiratory syndrome since the Spanish flu (an H1N1 pandemic) in 1918, which killed between 20 and 50 million people worldwide[1], the Covid-19 pandemic has been spreading fear and uncertainty in the population.
CRISTINA DOUGLAS
鈥淗ow do I escape from here?鈥� The question took me by complete surprise. 鈥淭his is a care home, Muriel. Your daughter brought you here because it鈥檚 safe for you.鈥� Little did I know at that time, only about two months ago, that this will change so dramatically in a matter of weeks.
TIFFANY LOERA
No te preocupes hija, estamos bien, my mom says reassuringly to me over the phone as we discuss the current state of the United States.
OBINDRA B. CHAND
INAYAT ALI
Did Johann Wolfgang von Goethe鈥攖he eminent German intellectual of the modern era鈥攚ear a mask in his lifetime?
Although the question is interesting, the answer is unknown. Nonetheless, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Goethe is wearing a mask鈥搊n his statue on Vienna鈥檚 renowned Ringstrasse (Ring Street), near to Austria鈥檚 National Opera House. Masks are certainly symbolic, and symbols are pregnant with multiple meanings, literal as well as metaphorical.
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