Numerous funding calls have been issued in response to the impact of the virus. But they (unsurprisingly) focus on immediate contributions to the ‘war effort’, like vaccination and accelerated manufacturing. The specific focus on Covid-19 now needs to be supplemented by an emphasis on historical contextualisation and a more expansive array of intellectual approaches, both empirical and theoretical, pulling in adjacent questions of cultural ecology, communication and transmission, and treating Covid as just one instance of life in an age of multiple modes of (viral, informational, market) contagion and environmental instability. The IAS seeks in response to bring together all angles on contagion and its wider horizons within the Durham community and beyond, with a view to discussing broader yet also deeper questions of biological, social, cultural, economic and political vitality and resilience. One chief goal will be an intellectually coherent framework for rebuilding society, and for the strategic co-ordination of funding bids aimed in that direction.

KEYWORDS: Anthropocene, austerity, contagion, diversity, liberty, pathogenicity, pollution, precarity, resilience, transmission.

An initial virtual scoping event will take place on Tuesday 7 July, at 09:30-12:30, followed by a seminar series and workshops next year. For the scoping event, we ask colleagues interested in pitching topics for discussion to submit short (max. 1 page) proposals, and to be willing to present ideas informally on the day. Proposals will be made available to all via OneDrive, where we will also house a library of relevant research articles.

Colleagues are invited to send expressions of interest and proposals to: enquiries.ias@durham.ac.uk. A Zoom link and password for July 7 will be sent out to anyone requesting attendance.

Contact enquiries.ias@durham.ac.uk for more information about this event.