Article ID: CBB706220395

The Multiple Temporalities of Epidemic Endings (2022)

unapi

The beginnings of epidemics are often told as if they are simple to locate in time. They take the form of a crisis, and as such, function as great synchronisers of different temporalities, bringing social temporalities “in line” with biological ones. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, political processes that are usually slow were accelerated in order to “catch up with” the fast pace of the virus's reproduction, as policymakers saw a need to contain the virus. The end of an epidemic, on the other hand, is more difficult to pinpoint. This can be attributed to the fact that the myriad actors involved in and affected by an epidemic operate on diverging time scales. Although seemingly synchronised from its outset, these lifetimes become un-synchronised as the epidemic unfolds. Some effects of an epidemic outbreak are easily observed, such as infection rates and the number of deceased. Others-psychological or medical after-effects, or the lasting memory in a population-may be harder to spot. Declaring that an epidemic has “ended” usually relies on the ceasing of the former, not the latter. However, as this article argues, the ending(s) of an epidemic should be regarded in the plural, each operating within its own rhythm and scale. This article explores the multiplicity of lifetimes involved in epidemics-human, microbial, institutional-and tries to give an explanation as to how epidemics end (or linger on) using an approach of multiple temporalities.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB706220395/

Similar Citations

Article Giuseppe Armocida; (2020)
Di nuovo una storia vecchia. L’emergenza Coronavirus (/isis/citation/CBB710967498/)

Article Breyfogle, Nicholas B.; Brooke, John L.; Otter, Christopher J.; (2013)
The State and the Epidemiological Transition: An Introduction (/isis/citation/CBB001201440/)

Article Virginia Berridge; (2022)
The Many Endings of Recent Epidemics: HIV/AIDS, Swine Flu 2009, and Policy (/isis/citation/CBB473200788/)

Book Andrew Lakoff; (2017)
Unprepared: Global Health in a Time of Emergency (/isis/citation/CBB434578273/)

Book Nelli-Elena Vanzan Marchini; (2022)
Guardarsi da chi non si guarda. La Repubblica di Venezia e il controllo delle pandemie (/isis/citation/CBB098126566/)

Chapter Silvia D'Agata; (2021)
Comunicare, prevenire, ricordare. Dalla peste del 1656 alla memoria del passato (/isis/citation/CBB470794992/)

Article Erica Charters; (2022)
Information, Expertise, and Authority: The Many Ends of Epidemics (/isis/citation/CBB065074924/)

Book Alberto Tanturri; (2018)
"Il soffio avvelenato del contagio": La peste di Noja del 1815-16 (/isis/citation/CBB014506181/)

Book Costanza Geddes da Filicaia; Marco Geddes da Filicaia; (2015)
Peste: Il ‘flagello di Dio’ fra letteratura e scienza (/isis/citation/CBB178325117/)

Book Maria Paola Zanoboni; (2020)
La vita al tempo della peste. Misure restrittive, quarantena, crisi economica (/isis/citation/CBB068961007/)

Article Paul Richards; (2020)
Ebola and COVID-19 in Sierra Leone: comparative lessons of epidemics for society (/isis/citation/CBB007996257/)

Book Lina Scalisi; (2021)
Libera nos: Epidemie e conflitti sociali in Sicilia (secc. XVI-XXI) (/isis/citation/CBB556773712/)

Book Bulmus, Birsen; (2012)
Plague, Quarantines, and Geopolitics in the Ottoman Empire (/isis/citation/CBB001251697/)

Book Robert Peckham; (2016)
Epidemics in Modern Asia (/isis/citation/CBB154999825/)

Book Florence Bretelle-Establet; (2014)
Penser les épidémies depuis la Chine, le Japon et la Corée (/isis/citation/CBB408284586/)

Authors & Contributors
Alibrandi, Rosamaria
Geddes da Filicaia, Marco
Tina Travagliante
Cinzia Recca
Maria Paola Zanoboni
Tanturri, Alberto
Concepts
Medicine and politics
Medicine and society
Epidemics
Public health
Medicine
Disease and diseases
Time Periods
Early modern
19th century
21st century
18th century
Modern
20th century
Places
Sicily
Italy
Europe
United Kingdom
Sierra Leone
Spain
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment