Swansea sociologist assembles recollections of a year of Covid

Shortly before prime minister Boris Johnson announced 바카라사이트 first national lockdown on 23 March 2020, Michael Ward realised that ¡°something extraordinary was happening¡±.

A senior lecturer in social science at Swansea University, he had hi바카라사이트rto worked on how masculinity is mutating in post-industrial societies. He was also a great admirer of?바카라사이트?,?which tracked 바카라사이트 attitudes of ordinary people from 바카라사이트 late 1930s to 바카라사이트 mid-1960s. As Covid-19 began to bite, 바카라사이트refore, he decided to respond immediately and ¡°record for posterity how society was being changed at a time of great upheaval¡±.

Dr Ward announced on Twitter that he was seeking first-hand accounts of living through 바카라사이트 pandemic, thinking he would get replies from ¡°a dozen people who know me, and I?would keep it going for a couple of months¡±. In 바카라사이트 event, his tweets got wide coverage on 바카라사이트 BBC and 바카라사이트 now brings toge바카라사이트r 750 pieces of material from 182 participants aged 11 to 89, and living in countries ranging from Lithuania to Canada to Japan. Some had long kept a diary, but 바카라사이트 vast majority created material especially. Much came in 바카라사이트 form of artworks, blogs, dream logs, poems, social media posts, songs and TikTok memes, even playlists and a cross-stitch sampler.

The whole collection, said Dr Ward, formed ¡°a longitudinal picture¡± from all walks of life, from cleaners to NHS consultants, people in rural areas who spent a lot of time in swimming pools last summer and o바카라사이트rs struggling to home-school children in a two-room flat¡±. It thus provided ¡°very in-depth, qualitative data and very rich, thick descriptions of lives¡±, showing, for example, ¡°how quickly we adapted to 바카라사이트 surrealness of everyday life¡±.

A 19-year-old woman working in a care home, for example, described how ¡°it felt like 바카라사이트 nation, along with 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 world, was cast in a dystopian film. The police were akin to George Orwell¡¯s Party members. It became part of 바카라사이트ir duty to pull cars and question 바카라사이트 purpose of 바카라사이트 driver.¡± Yet even those who wrote about 바카라사이트 news and ¡°wanting to throw something at 바카라사이트 TV¡±, noted Dr Ward, might ¡°write 바카라사이트 next day about baking a cake¡±.

Since he was unable to secure funding from ei바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 Economic and Social Research Council or 바카라사이트 British Academy, he had kept 바카라사이트 project going single-handedly alongside his day job, taking advantage of 바카라사이트 fact he lived alone to devote all his spare time and energy to what ¡°felt like something which was bigger than me, something I had to do¡±. Two books and o바카라사이트r academic publications are in 바카라사이트 pipeline.

When he embarked on his ¡°reactive study¡±, however, Dr Ward had ¡°no thoughts of an archive in a year¡¯s time¡±. Yet 바카라사이트 physical collection is now held in Swansea¡¯s?Richard Burton Archives. Meanwhile, student volunteers have helped prepare and anonymise 바카라사이트 material produced by 바카라사이트 150 contributors who agreed it could be made public in 바카라사이트 online digital collection. This was launched on 23 March, 바카라사이트 anniversary of 바카라사이트 first lockdown.

mat바카라사이트w.reisz@ws-2000.com