Politics in the Era of Global Pandemic

The COVID-19 global pandemic has upended everyday life around the globe. Governments around the world have declared states of emergency and made extraordinary changes to our social and political lives. While some have posited the virus as “democratic,” statistics tell a different story; it is clear that some groups are more vulnerable to hospitalization and death than others. In the months and years ahead the virus will continue to focus our attention on a range of related structural concerns—public health, wealth and income inequality, racial justice, workers’ rights, the role of the military, climate change, the food production system, national security, education to name but just a few. As ever, politics has shaped the nature of this crisis and politics will continue to shape our response and recovery. COVID-19 has the potential to significantly transform political, economic, and social life in countries around the world. This course will closely follow current events and bring in a range of experts to help us understand this crisis from a variety of perspectives including its global, economic, cultural, and social impact.