Research Agenda for COVID-19 and Society

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary.

With contributions from leading experts in the fields of anthropology, communications, disaster studies, economics, epidemiology, Indigenous studies, philosophy and sociology, this expansive book offers a diverse range of social science perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic, providing critical insights into what a research agenda for COVID-19 and society resembles across different fields of study.

This timely Research Agenda investigates what the social sciences can contribute to COVID-19 scholarship, exploring topics such as the impact of the pandemic on women and Indigenous Peoples, ideas behind herd immunity, drivers of vaccine diplomacy, magnification of existing inequalities, and the ethics of vaccine passports. Driven by a particular focus on the causes and consequences of the pandemic, the book considers the opportunities that research into COVID-19 presents, including how such disasters might be mitigated, as well as how we might change the world for the better and carry out our own work differently in the future.

Drawing upon numerous critical theories and methodological approaches, this incisive Research Agenda will be an invaluable tool for academics across the social sciences, particularly disaster scholars. Graduate and undergraduate students will benefit from its wealth of insightful contributions from experts working in their respective fields.