Research News at the College of Liberal Arts

College of Liberal Arts

June 4, 2020

COVID-19: Humanities scholars offer insights for the future by looking at the history of pandemics

The global COVID-19 pandemic affected us all and demands us to work toward mitigating its effects. The Purdue College of Liberal Arts intellectual community is ready to step up to the plate. Our scholars are well equipped to propose humanistic responses to the pandemic challenges. They are particularly well-positioned to explain how the pandemic challenged “common wisdom” assumptions about “normal” life. They can propose socio-cultural strategies tested by time that may help us make value-driven choices or adopt anxiety coping mechanisms.

We asked two of our leading humanities scholars to help us untangle some of the dilemmas brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic: Dr. Dorsey Armstrong, Professor of Medieval English Literature and the Head of the English Department, and Dr. Paula Leverage, Associate Professor of French and Medieval Studies and the Director of the Center for Neurohumanities. They have studied and have a solid understanding of the Great Plague, which killed between one third and half of the European population between 1347-1350. Their knowledge might help us better understand and respond to the human cultural and social challenges of the pandemic.

Liberal Arts Scholars use humanities perspectives to explain current responses to the COVID-19 crisis The global COVID-19 pandemic affected us all and demands us all to work toward mitigating its effects. The Purdue College of Liberal Arts intellectual community is...
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