Call for Submissions – COVID-19

The new pandemic of COVID-19 has shaken us all severely at Critical Edges. Emerging crisis situations around the world are rapid and disturbing. We are concerned about the quick spread of the novel coronavirus impacting lives and livelihoods globally. Countries have reacted in different ways to the pandemic. In effect, we experience  varying levels of commitment and responsibility towards health and safety and we are revealing the true capacities of health care systems. In the past few weeks, we have witnessed conflicted priorities in the health and economic sectors affecting social stability. As of today, we can see universities and schools closing down, public life disrupted, flights cancelled and borders closed in several countries. 

These difficult times have brought varied kinds of discrimination and marginalisation to the forefront. Many people are viewed as potential virus-carriers and are thus ridiculed and discriminated against. Certain populations and social groups are more severely impacted by the virus than others needing greater care yet not necessarily receiving it. Poverty and homelessness exacerbate the social cost of this pandemic greatly. 

At the same time, stories of solidarity are also emerging. People support their neighbours and communities, and offer help to strangers. People are sharing advisories and staying close to their families and friends to offer care and support, to ease heightened anxieties.

This is a time of paradoxes, and a time for change. We are yet uncertain about its outcomes.  

As a global students’ collective, all of us at Critical Edges are experiencing the COVID-19 crisis very differently ourselves. We would like to show support and solidarity to everyone fighting this pandemic and its underlying inequalities, all those who are there for their loved ones and to anyone at all, in difficult times such as these.

We believe in the importance of awareness, respect and critical inquiries. More so now as we collectively live through a pandemic. Hence we are calling on all of you, from different parts of the world, to share with us your thoughts, reflections, and experiences of the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We hope to see submissions on but not exclusive to:

• Conflicting beliefs surrounding coronavirus: How do different societies react to this moment of crisis? How do they relate to the powers of the state?

• Comparative government actions and reflections on previous pandemics. Why and how do governments shift their policies related to COVID-19?

• Discrimination/harassment/marginalisation/exclusion: In universities where students from high risk countries might be discriminated against/ largely in the public health system where certain people can access treatment while others cannot/ Exclusion and marginalisation of already vulnerable groups such as refugees, homeless, elderly and disabled people in times of the coronavirus.

• Economic effects and questions on the global neoliberal system: What will happen in this new wave of recession? Who works and who doesn’t work in a crisis? Can neoliberalism handle a pandemic? Can we imagine a new economic system?

• Changes in workers and workspace: Working from home/ working online/ how will it change our social interactions? What is the sustainability of social distancing?

• Emergence of new solidarity v/s increased individualism: The creation of new online support platforms as against mass acts of panic purchases

• University action & student experiences: How education changes in times of pandemic/ creation of learning communities to support all the stakeholders/ emergence of novel ways of learning and teaching and their sustainability 

• Insights from the medical community: Verified factual information/ Narratives of med school students, nurses and health practitioners

You are welcome to create different kinds of content such as but not limited to the following:

• Essays
• Authoethnographies
• Analysis of policies
• Opinion pieces
• Research stories
• Poems
• Collages, photo or video stories

Send us your work

• Use “COVID-19 submission_title_author” as the subject in the email
• Attach media (pictures, audio, video, etc) content separately in your email
• Send to our e-mail at ce.submission@gmail.com
• Learn about our submission guidelines, if you have other concerns
• We will send notifications to you via the email we receive your work, so please make sure that you check your email regularly and respond timely

If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to contact us: criticaledges@gmail.com 

Note: Novel Coronavirus and COVID-19 will be a running issue at least for the foreseeable near future. There is no deadline as of now. Submissions will be edited and published on a first come first serve basis. Check out our other call for submission on Media Crisis.

Critical Edges Covid-19 Global Issue Committee:

• Adrian Lind
• Adriana Escandon
• Bruno Gisan
• Fawad
• Lisa Trebs
• Shreya Urvashi
• Ushosee Pal
• Thea Pan
• Xue Min

Picture credit: Timo Lenzen/ Der Spiegel and edited by Lisa Trebs