COVID Memory Research Group
Remembering millions of lost lives in the global pandemic.
Celebrating the memory of everyday people sustainably.
Some of the issues we study include, but are not limited to:
COVID Memorial: Remembering the lives lost
COVID Society: Overcoming social trauma
COVID Recovery: Responding to a pandemic and environmental issues
COVID Children: Teaching zoomed out children to be social
COVID Loss: Rebuilding local financial strength
COVID Past: Remembering a global public health crisis
COVID Future: Rebuilding society into something sustainable
How will we remember COVID? How can our memories of the virus help us move forward in the near and far future in a sustainable way? Many thought of 2020 as the worst year possible, with millions of lives lost, sickness, financial loss, and the burden of being locked down at home (if you had one). As we move into 2021 and more people get vaccinated, that year emerges in rosier colors, with tales of more family time, the slowing down of hectic life, and decreased environmental impacts.
How should communities conceptualize this period in human history, and how can we develop new tools to remember the lives that have been lost? Memory is not a perfect processor of the past, but a lens through which we see the future. The COVID Memory Research Group will take an interdisciplinary approach to investigate global social trauma by drawing from fields such as social psychology, history, sustainable architecture, medicine, and music.
COVID Memorial Project
What positions do memorials hold in cultural memory?
How can architects and designers challenge our understanding of sustainable memorial design in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic?
Memory of Humans
Millions of lives have been lost, but the memories of these individuals will surely remain with us. The COVID Memory Research Group aims to develop new tools for communities to come together and reflect on the memory of those who lost their lives as a result of the pandemic.
Materials for History
As increased vaccinations are bringing this global public health crisis to a close, it is essential to develop new tools for current and future generations to reflect on a challenging period in human history.
The COVID Memory Research Group aims to create materials for researchers and the general public to reflect on the memory of a global public health crisis. The pandemic has served as the first global trauma event of the 21st century, and this troubling fact necessitates more thoughtful study of COVID memory.
Memoro (Esperanto) - Memory
The esperanto word Memoro comes from the latin - memor (“remembering, mindful”). Though the number of active esperanto speakers is roughly 100,000, the language itself has become a symbol of internationalism and cooperation. The COVID Memory Research Group believes that solidarity in the aftermath of the pandemic must transcend social, cultural, and national barriers. A global public health crisis requires a global response, and research into the memory of COVID must recognize the diversity of experiences that exist when it comes to the pandemic.
Contact
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
Email
mwj3@nyu.edu
Phone
(617) 285-0901