Cultural Consequences of Covid-19: Understanding the Pandemic

The session began with Professor Heinz exploring how lockdown novels in English published since 2020 have represented homemaking practices, domestic relations, and emotional experiences during the crisis. Professor Negra will consider trends in customer service in everyday Irish life which have rapidly accelerated during the pandemic, from branch closures to staff shortages, the stigmatization of cash, delivery delays and steep price increases, redefining the position of the “customer”.

Participants:

• Professor Sarah Heinz (University of Vienna): “At Home in the Pandemic: Lockdown Novels and the Politics of Home under COVID-19”
• Diane Negra, MRIA (University College Dublin):“COVID-19 and the New Terms of Customer Service"
• Chair: Daniel Carey, MRIA of the Moore Institute NUIG and RIA Secretary for Polite Literature and Antiquities

The Academy would like to note special thanks to the Moore Institute which has been instrumental in organising this important and timely discussion.

About the Series:

Covid-19 represents one of the greatest collective challenges the world has faced in modern times. Every aspect of society has been affected by the pandemic, from health to the economy and our most basic human and social values and traditions. The need for shared knowledge and understanding has never been greater as we contend with the crisis and plan for the future.

The Royal Irish Academy, Ireland’s leading body of experts in the sciences and humanities, has convened an online workshop series curated by the Academy’s Vice- President, Daniel Carey, MRIA, NUIG to address these vital questions, providing analysis and explanation for a public audience. Members of the academy, early career researchers, activists and experts from across society are invited to join us so that we can be as inclusive and creative as possible.