Corona Times

04/08/2021

Doubts about vaccines need to be overcome if we are to succeed in the fight against Covid-19.

02/08/2021

In his latest for Corona Times, HUMA-Institute for Humanities in Africa postdoctoral fellow Chikezie E. Uzuegbunam warns that scepticism fuelled by fake news poses a serious challenge to African countries' vaccination campaigns.

Doubts about vaccines need to be overcome if we are to succeed in the fight against Covid-19.

02/07/2021

In his latest for Corona Times, Nordregio senior research fellow John Moodie argues that, in order to understand Sweden's different approach to the pandemic, we need to consider the country's peculiar brand of state-supported individualism.

Sweden's peculiar brand of state-supported individualism has played an important role in shaping the country's approach to the pandemic.

28/01/2021

In her latest for Corona Times, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation behavioural scientist Millicent Atujuna warns that specific Covid-19 public health interventions and messages are needed to address the plight of youth living with HIV in South Africa.

Focusing exclusively on Covid-19 risks overlooking the struggles of vulnerable groups dealing with other chronic illnesses.

21/01/2021

Sweden and Norway share many social, cultural and economic ties, but their Covid-19 responses are radically different. This Corona Times essay by University of Oslo anthropologist and Stockholmer Camelia Dewan explains why.

Sweden and Norway share many social, cultural and economic ties, but their Covid-19 responses are radically different. This essay explains why.

21/12/2020

In her latest for Corona Times, Takako Mino from Ashesi University argues that indigenous African philosophies can help us rethink post-Covid education globally.

Indigenous African philosophies can help us transform school systems worldwide.

07/12/2020

After another busy corona teaching term, we are restarting the wheels of Corona Times. In this piece, anthropologist Magnus Ekeland, PhD candidate at Radboud University (Netherlands), reflects on the findings from his recent ethnographic fieldwork on informal lending and coping strategies in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

His research shows that, as the economic effects of the lockdown kicked in, Eastern Cape residents preferred to borrow money from loan sharks, rather than relying on family and friends.

As the economic effects of Covid-19 kicked in, Eastern Cape residents preferred to borrow money from loan sharks, rather than relying on family and friends.

27/11/2020

Langaa RPCIG is leading the way with a new edited collection on "Covid Stories From East Africa And Beyond", edited by Mary Njeri Kinyanjui, Roopal Thaker and Kathryn Toure.

https://www.langaa-rpcig.net/covid-stories-from-east-africa-and-beyond/

African StudiesAnthologies & CollectionsLiteratureSocial Sciences Covid Stories from East Africa and Beyond November 11, 2020 edited by Mary Njeri Kinyanjui, Roopal Thaker and Kathryn Toure Lived Experiences and Forward-Looking Reflections The coronavirus has rattled humanity, tested resolve and det...

17/11/2020

4 Postdoctoral fellowships in AI / 4th Industrial revolution and care in Africa at the dynamic world-class research environment of HUMA-Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town.

Funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York has made available 4 x postdoc fellowships: / & care in . The project tackles / & the possible futures of hospitals & care infrastructure in Africa. More Info: https://bit.ly/HUMAfellows2020

13/11/2020

Join the Sietar Europa – Special Interest Group on Africa debate led by Fuh on the topic: “Re-centering in the Imagination of -19.” Details: In the context of the Covid-19 crises in Europe, this event asks how to recentre discourses on Africa in the European imagination, and the productive consequences of such a move. It asks how Africans in Europe are experiencing the , what we can learn from Africa’s long experience with and crises, and what benefits emerge from centring perspectives.

When: Tuesday November 17th @ 19:00 SAST (18:00 CET)

REGISTRATION LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdO-srzMvGNNp7c88G7VDGfUit-8AgaBS?fbclid=IwAR0XGp_Mcgr2pllnFh184ccAY2tmsiDAEFAGV9tNB3-vVIj1GllKSaz4CoA Click to register and receive a link for the event

Re-centering Africa in the European Imagination of Covid-19 In the context of the Covid-19 crises in Europe, this seminar series asks how to recenter discourses on Africa in the European imagination, and the productive consequences of such a move. It asks how Africans in Europe are experiencing the....

10/11/2020

3 PhD fellowships focusing on AI and the 4th industrial revolution in Africa are available at HUMA-Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town.

If you are looking for a PhD position in a dynamic, forward-looking, world-class interdisciplinary research institute focusing on African humanities and social sciences, this call will definitely interest you.

Deadline: 30 November 2020

Link to the call attached to this post

http://webcms.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/376/Fellowships/HUMA-Doctoral-Research-Fellow-201101.pdf

15/09/2020

Corona Times contributor and UCT anthropology PhD student Tamuka Chekero talks to Lester Kiewit on South African radio about the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on migrants in South Africa.

You can check Tamuka's Corona Times article (with Helidah Refiloe Ogude) here: https://www.coronatimes.net/convivial-networks-migrants-pandemic-south-africa/

Guest: Tamuka Chekero  | Ph.D. Student in Anthropology at University of Cape Town

14/09/2020

We needed a break to recharge our batteries and get the new teaching semester started, and now we are back with more commentary and analysis.

The latest blog in Corona Times (coronatimes.net) focuses on the struggles of migrants in South Africa during the pandemic, by Tamuka Chekero, PhD student at the University of Cape Town, and Helidah Refiloe Ogude, PhD student at the New School, New York City.

Migrants in South Africa have formed their own networks of economic and emotional support to deal with crisis, but the state should do more to help them.

30/07/2020

Corona Times editor and HUMA - Institute for the Humanities in Africa director Divine Fuh writes about smiling, laughter and the tragic ironies of life during Covid-19 in Bamenda, Cameroon.

The capacities to smile and laugh are competencies that we all have, but more than ever before arethreatened by the introduction of masks as interface for relatively safe interactions during the pandemic. I travelled to Bamenda just after the Covid-19 storm began to subside. My last visit was in 201...

21/07/2020

Check out this Zoom webinar on "Drawing Maps, Imagined Landscapes and Pandemic StorytellinG" organised by the Livingmaps Network.

Tomorrow Wednesday 22 July, from 6.30pm to 8pm (UK time)

Drawing maps, imagined landscapes and pandemic storytelling A LivingMaps Webinar JOIN US ON ZOOM: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88154010458?pwd=NFpCLzJRcTVCZEFWbEtWTjBpSmdFZz09 Meeting ID: 881 5401 0458 Password: mapsalive Almost overnight our landscapes were transformed as social

20/07/2020

"During full lockdown, my world paused. I became a witness to the easy flow of time, to the erasure of material differentiation between home and work" writes University of the Free State associate professor Joy Owen.

Her Corona Times piece offers a descriptive account of the role of the senses in the everyday life of lockdown in South Africa.

During full lockdown, my world paused. I became a witness to the easy flow of time, to the erasure of material differentiation between home and work.

13/07/2020

This Corona Times piece focuses on the experiences of international students in Germany during Covid-19.

"As I struggled to come to terms with the distance that separated me from my loved ones, I started to feel guilty about whether I was performing well enough" says Humboldt University PhD candidate Gordana Zhura.

As I struggled to come to terms with the distance that separated me from my loved ones, I started to feel guilty about whether I was performing well enough.

10/07/2020

"Covid-19 has reminded me that my quarantine existed way before it became a reality for everyone else", says University of Lausanne PhD student Annelise Erismann. Her piece in Corona Times reflects on her experiences as an international student in Switzerland.

Covid-19 has reminded me that my quarantine existed way before it became a reality for everyone else.

09/07/2020

What if we decided that Africa was the centre of the world, asks University of Cape Town HUMA-Institute for Humanities in Africa director and Corona Times editor Divine Fuh.

08/07/2020

As Bolsonaro tests positive for Covid-19, it's time to interrogate his politics of death and its devastating effects on people of colour and working class communities in Brazil.

University of São Paulo anthropologist Carolina Parreiras and Rio de Janeiro State University nutritionist Viviane Mattar do just that in their latest for Corona Times.

Drawing from their research in Rio de Janeiro's favelas, the authors show that favela residents do what they can to overcome government's inaction on Covid-19, and to protect themselves from the virus and from economic insecurity.

Despite government inaction, Rio de Janeiro's favela residents are doing what they can to protect themselves from the devastating effects of the virus.

06/07/2020

Domestic workers in the Indian city of Bengaluru face multiple discriminations across class, gender and caste lines. The lockdown has made their lives harder, argues ecologist and activist Samira Agnihotri in Corona Times.

Domestic workers in the city of Bengaluru face multiple discriminations across class, gender and caste lines. The lockdown has made their lives harder.

04/07/2020

The pandemic is pushing international humanitarian organisations that support displaced populations to work closely with local partners.
More still needs to be done to increase local participation, argues University of Cambridge PhD candidate Dorien Braam in Corona Times.

The pandemic is pushing international humanitarian organisations to work closely with local partners. More still needs to be done.

01/07/2020

During full lockdown, South Africans took to social media to watch their neighbours, and make sure that public health restrictions were followed. The implications of this citizen surveillance are far-reaching, argues University of Cape Town associate professor Tanja Bosch in Corona Times.

South Africans took to social media to watch their neighbours, and make sure that lockdown rules were followed. The implications are far-reaching.

29/06/2020

Maps have become a staple of the pandemic. These visual representations reflect more our deepest fears and prejudices, than objective facts about the virus, argues University of East London emeritus professor Phil Cohen in Corona Times.

Maps have become a staple of the pandemic. These visual representations reflect more our deepest fears and prejudices, than objective facts about the virus.

27/06/2020

In Ghana, the pandemic has spurred a wave of criticisism against the spiritual and economic practices of some Christian churches. Ashesi University anthropologist Joseph Oduro-Frimpong explains why in his latest for Corona Times.

In Ghana, the pandemic has spurred a wave of criticisism against the spiritual and economic practices of some Christian churches.

25/06/2020

We need a feminised understanding of the pandemic to address the stark gender inequalities that have emerged during South Africa's lockdown, argues Kgomotso Ramushu in Corona Times.

We need a feminised understanding of the pandemic, in order to address the stark gender inequalities that have emerged during South Africa's lockdown.

24/06/2020

Director of HUMA-Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town, and Corona Times editor Divine Fuh will speak at a webinar on "Inequalities in an Era of Pandemics", organised by the World Council of Anthropological Associations.

The webinar will be held tomorrow, Thursday 25 June, 13:00 UTC.

Inequalities in an Era of Pandemics. 25 June 13:00 UTC.

23/06/2020

In this compelling essay for Corona Times, anthropologist A.R. Vasavi provides a rich and textured account of India's lockdown, showing how it has brought into stark relief the devastating inequalities that exclude the majority of people from full social and economic citizenship.

Vasavi weaves together fine-grained descriptions of everyday life under lockdown, with a powerful structural analysis, and a view to the future.

If you want to know more about where India is at in times of Covid-19 and beyond, this is the piece to read.

India's lockdown has thrown into stark relief the devastating inequalities that exclude the majority of people from full social and economic citizenship.

18/06/2020

Africa needs a new social contract: we are honoured to host this excellent contribution on the African Union Covid-19 Response Fund, written by the Spokesperson of the Chairperson of the AU Commission Ebba Kalondo, and Aspen Institute fellow Carl Manlan.

Building on the experience of past epidemics such as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the African continent is on its way to build a new social contract.

17/06/2020

Check out Livingmaps Network webinar on Wednesday 24 June, 18.30-20.00 UK time

"THERE MUST BE SOME WAY OUT OF HERE: VIEWS OF OUR MULTIPLE CRISIS FROM LEFT FIELD"

More info here: https://www.livingmaps.org/forthcoming-events/2020/1/7/livingmaps-network-meet-up-event-out-of-here

There must be some way out of here: Views of our multiple crisis from Left Field A LivingMaps Webinar, in association with Compass June 24th 18.30 - 20.00 JOIN US ON ZOOM: (Meeting ID: 477 004 7099 Password: mapsalive) First there was Brexit. Then the Labour Party goes