What the Pandemic Means: Perspectives from the Trinity Long Room Hub Covid-19 Blog Collection

Abstract

In the spring of 2020, when the pandemic hit our shores, we were told to stay home. We listened to public health advice and to experts debating the measures required to protect us. Scientific terminology crept into our daily conversations. But in addition to the ongoing uncertainty about the long-term impacts of the virus on our health, many of us were struggling with the uncertainty that now emerged in our everyday lives. What did the pandemic mean to us, beyond its medical impact, in a cultural and social sense?

To consider this question, the Trinity Long Room Hub launched a Covid-19 blog series, in which contributors reflected on how we might cope with the loss of physical contact and human connection (Courtney Helen Grile, p.16) and how we could feel both ‘urgency and fatigue’ (Jacob Erikson, p.8). We heard from author Caitríona Lally on how our understanding of ‘essential work’ changes at a time like this (p.5), and Sam Slote talked us through Ulysses as a guide for navigating the pandemic as we celebrated ‘Zoomsday’ (p.23). Lorraine Leeson highlighted what it means to be deaf during a global health crisis, (p.45) and Eve Patten drew on post-war literature to reflect on what might come next: ‘A Tale of ‘Afterwards’’ ( p.53).

In these and other blogs from the series, we looked to language and literature, to art and creative practice, and to many other humanities disciplines in search of precedent and perspective on what the pandemic means for us as humans. We are pleased to be able to share these blogs with you in this shortened collection.