HEALTH EMERGENCY IN ASIA AND AFRICA: SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS, NARRATIVES ON MEDIA, POLITICAL ISSUES

ABSTRACT:

The project aims at conducting a wide interdisciplinary study from the perspective of Human Sciences on the consequences and the transformations generated by the recent health emergency in some countries of Asia and Africa. Three disciplinary areas of investigation have been identified: I) Societal implications, with three main topics, i.e. minority, on the consequences of the crisis on minorities, refugees, day labourers , tribal communities, etc.; resilience, the non-institutional initiatives brought about by associations, NGOs, social activists, etc.; sustainability, as a characteristic of the non-institutional interventions put in place, and a medium-term objective for the post-emergency vision. II) Narratives on media: It analyses various cultural products, from videos to blogs, performing arts, body language, etc., aiming at identifying the narratives and (the often repressed or censored) counter-narratives that emerged during the crisis. III) Political issues: It investigates the different interventions with respect to the institutional set-up of each country, and the quality of the processes that have led to the issuing of the measures themselves, in order to get relevant data on the political management of the emergency. The study will be articulated along two main axes: a) a research within each of the selected countries, and b) a comparative study, with a view to distinguishing between measures, behaviours, processes that are culture-specific and those that suggest similarities. It is expected that the project will mark a significant progress both in relation to the (still scarce) analyses on the current pandemic, and to the theoretical contributions in disciplinary fields such as narratology, applied political sciences, religious studies, minority studies. For the these reasons, and within the limits of its specificity, it may thus represent a reference investigation, that could contribute to further research also in adjoining disciplinary fields.

DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

Introduction: The spread of the new Corona virus apparently begun from regions of East Asia, like previous epidemic episodes, recent (SARS-CoV 2002) and older (cf. https://www.epicentro.iss.it/ steps / storiePandemia). The countries of the area were hit first, albeit to an extent and with relatively different consequences. The measures adopted, the description of the reactions of the population, the social and political dynamics that have been generated therefrom have represented usual topics in the news circulated in the last few months, especially with reference to China and Korea. Less known and debated are however the effects of the epidemic in other large Asian and, more recently, African countries, mainly because the events took place simultaneously with the spread of the epidemic in Europe and America – a phenomenon that has monopolized media attention and scientific debate in the West. While the global scientific discussion about medical and clinical issues has gathered wide attention both from academic and research institutions, and from the public opinion, other related themes remain much less debated. It is now evident however that the legislative and administrative innovations, the social reactions, the media narratives produced by the health emergency in areas that are crucial for world policy and economy will affect for a long time not only the social and political dynamics and the culture of the countries involved , but also the framework of international relations, in the perspective of a general reconfiguration of alliances and conflicts. The research project: The scholars gathered in the present research project are specialised in various fields of study concerning the societies and cultures of several Asian and African countries. They aim at conducting a wide interdisciplinary research on the consequences and the transformations generated by the health emergency, that will be articulated along two main axes: a) a research within each of the selected regions, and b) a comparative study between the different regions, with a view to distinguishing between measures, behaviours, processes that are culture-specific and those that seem to suggest similarities. The themes examined will in turn be subject not only to specialized investigation but also to inter-disciplinary analyses, building on the hypothesis that most of the dynamics and processes triggered by the current emergency cover areas that for their intrinsic nature transcend the borders of specific disciplines. Three main fields of research have been identified as far, that can be described as follows: I) Societal implications. It articulates in three themes brought to light by the emergency. The first is that of minority, which refers to the consequences of the crisis on the most disadvantaged social groups: minorities, refugees, unemployed, day labourers , tribal communities, etc. The second is that of resilience, which has to do with the non-institutional initiatives brought about by associations, NGOs, groups of citizens, volunteers, communities, etc., for dealing with the different types of emergencies (economic, social, medical, psychological, cultural) produced not only by the epidemic, but also by the legislative and administrative measures adopted by governments and police authorities. The third theme is that of sustainability, which has to be understood both as a characteristic (we can say inherent) of the non-institutional interventions put in place, and as a medium-term objective which the post-emergency vision should be geared towards. II) Narratives on media: It is an intrinsically interdisciplinary field, in which analyses on various cultural products are grouped, from news reports to instant books, from videos (in their various formats) to songs, comments, blogs, materials posted on social networks, photos , flash mobs, urban art, performing arts, body language, etc. It is a potentially vast and ever extending archive, from which we expect to obtain first-hand information and data, based on often completely original materials. One of the main objectives of the research brought about in this field is to identify the type of narratives and counter-narratives that emerged during the emergency period, with reference to keywords such as “safety”, "protection", "security", "war", "mobilization", "heroism", tending to frame the events in a context of exceptionality that requires, by its nature, extraordinary measures. This type of narration was not only widely fed by most of the public authorities' press releases, announcements and bulletins, but also relaunched and amplified by slogans, messages, invitations conveyed by social networks and other mass communication channels. Much less widespread, in a degree variable from country to country, a critical counter-narrative has however surfaced, tending to bring to light previous deficiencies, inefficiencies in interventions and political exploitation of the emergency. The proposed research will try to investigate these shaded areas with particular attention. 4 / 16 III) Political issues: This category includes research activities such as the collection of data on, and the analysis of, the legislative and administrative measures implemented by institutions such as central governments, local administrations, public security authorities, etc., with the aim of managing the emergency. This is a crucial field of investigation, in that both the different declinations of the interventions with respect to the institutional set-up of each country, and the different quality of the processes that have led to the issuing of the measures themselves (with respect, for example, to the participation of stakeholders such as workers’ unions, representatives of civil society, scientific institutes, etc.), provide relevant data on the political management of the emergency. Resarch phases: Four successive research phases can be identified: I) Data collection, including documents, publications, audio and video materials, questionnaires to be submitted to the various stakeholders, interviews, etc. These materials will be collected in different ways, but priority will be given to local sources, in the belief that it will be of utmost importance to integrate the large amount of information collected via the internet and other globally accessible archives, with the contributions of local informants in direct contact with the reality of the selected regions. This option may be decisive since it is reasonable to hypothesize that in the short term it will not be possible for western scholars to carry out in-depth investigations in many (and/or in the most affected areas) of the selected countries, while immediate access to the data is crucial for the achievement of the research objectives. Time frame of phase I: month 0 to 12. II) Processing and discussion of the collected data, analysis of the available scientific literature, first country-specific reports, periodic seminars and round tables (mainly on web platforms) with the participants to the research group, launching of cooperation, seminars and debates (mainly on web platforms) with international scholars not belonging to the research group. Setting up of a dedicated website, that will be continuously updated with contributions, information, remarks, discussions etc. based on the data locally collected and the analyses conducted by the participants. Time frame of phase II: months 6 to 18. Time frame of the website: month 6 to 24 and beyond. III) Production of papers, communications, documents, press releases, audio-video contributions on the research topics and the results achieved so far, to be circulated among both academic and research institutions, and social and political stakeholders, such as associations, unions, national and internationals organisations, local and national governments, NGOs, media etc. The materials produced in Phase III will be organized according to the two main axes mentioned before, (a) those regarding each of the selected regions, and (b) comparative studies between the different regions), with a view to distinguishing between measures, behaviours, processes that are culture-specific and those that seem to suggest similarities. They will also be inspired by the need of raising national and international debates on the consequences and the challenges of the health emergency and of suggesting policies and practices that may reduce the social and cultural impact of the health crisis and of the measures adopted to tackle it. Time frame of Phase III: month 12 to 24. IV) Organisation of an international conference involving both the participants to the research group and other international scholars who have produced relevant analyses on related topics. The conference will be materially held in a venue at Sapienza University, but it will also gather a large participation via remote connection. The proceedings of the conference will be fully reviewed, edited and published in an open access volume, to be widely disseminated and debated. Time frame of Phase IV: between month 20 to 24; open access publication(s) could be released also after month 24.