Age has been used both to identify the impact of and shape the response to COVID-19. We have long heard that those who are 65+ are at greater risk; the CDC reports that people in this age group account for 8 of 10 deaths. As frightening as these numbers are, they do not translate into 8 of 10 elders dying, or even 8 of 10 of those infected.
Deadline: August 31, 2020
The American Sociological Association (ASA) encourages applications for the Community Action Research Initiative (CARI) grants. CARI grants are for projects that bring social science knowledge and methods to bear in addressing community-based problems. Applicants must be sociologists seeking to work with community organizations or community action initiatives.
American Sociological Review: As of August 1, 2020, all new submissions and correspondence should be sent to the new editors: Art Alderson and Dina Okamoto, Department of Sociology, 1020 E. Kirkwood Avenue, 744 Ballantine Hall, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47404; (812) 855-2791; asrjrnl@iu.edu; submission site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/asr.
Application Deadline: December 15
As we began planning the first issue of Footnotes to be produced entirely from home, it was self-evident that we should focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. I feel confident in saying that not a single member of ASA has been unaffected by this crisis, and some in profound and heartbreaking ways.
The Sociology and Anthropology Department at my institution has been doing what so many others have done over the past couple of months – finding a way to keep our classes moving forward through the abrupt and unexpected shift to virtual teaching, the weeks that have followed, and the months ahead.
My first visit to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) archive in Geneva, Switzerland was demoralizing. I had corresponded with an ICRC archivist and perused the catalog, but upon arriving I discovered that the boxes I had believed held the material needed for my dissertation thesis were gone. The archivist speculated those boxes may have been lost to fire or rats decades ago. But he also understood the questions I was pursuing, and provided boxes filed close to where the boxes I was looking for should have been.
If there is one thing that can be said about ethnography, it is that social intimacy, and not social distancing, is crucial. While we are to remain a six-foot distance from each other, not meet in groups of more than 10 (or of two in Berlin), or to shelter at home, what are the possibilities for ethnographic research? What is its future in the world that follows?
Personal experiences and anecdotal accounts from others have demonstrated to us that departments are frequently ill-equipped to provide adequate resources, support, and mentorship for graduate students. Current graduate students often feel that tenured professors are out of touch with increasing demands on graduate students. Publishing, classes, assistantships, internships, conference presentations, and association leadership roles are expected.
As I am writing this, we are in the midst of a global pandemic. Everything has changed. I haven’t been to campus in weeks. My daughter in high school has had weeks without any word from her teachers. My daughters in college have come back home and have all of their instruction online. My home office has become my permanent office.