Feminist Collaborations: Global Teaching Resources on COVID-19

SWS COVID-19 TEACHING RESOURCES: MULTIPLE SOURCES (BLOGS, NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, ORGANIZATIONAL ARTICLES, SCHOLARLY ARTICLES) ORGANIZED THEMATICALLY.

 

The SWS International Committee is honored to support SWS President, Josephine Beoku-Betts’ recent initiative on “Exploring the Impact and Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic from a Global, Intersectional, and Feminist Perspective” to collaboratively create a feminist teaching resource for graduate, undergraduate and community college courses.

Below is the resource compilation of various sources as submitted by SWSers and members of the International Sociological Association’s RC (Research Committee) 32 – Women, Gender & Society (https://www.isa-sociology.org/en/research-networks/research-committees/rc32-women-gender-and-society).  The resources are organized thematically to represent the global conversations relationally regarding global health, economic and ethnoracial crises. This is a living document to be continually updated and we hope you find it useful as you prepare and readjust your syllabi across the Fall semester.

In solidarity,
The Feminist Collaborations: Global Teaching Resources on COVID-19 Subcommittee:

hara bastas, Shelene Gomes, Daniela Jauk and Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente.


Thematic areas: Capitalism; Slow Violence.  Submitted by: Shelene Gomes

Organizational article: Maraj, Nirmal and Kerrigan, Dylan. COVID-19 and the Impact of Racial Capitalism in the Caribbean. Discover Society. April 30th.

https://discoversociety.org/2020/04/06/covid-19-and-the-impact-of-racial-capitalism-in-the-caribbean/

 

Thematic areas: Capitalism; Migration.  Submitted by: Shelene Gomes

Organizational article: Timcke, Scott. 2020. Capital, Class and Crisis in South Africa. Pensar La Pandemia: Observatorio Social del Coronavirus.

https://www.clacso.org/capital-class-and-crisis-in-south-africa/

 

Thematic areas: Communities of Care; Mental Health.  Submitted by: Susan Sered

Blog: Bubbling Up: Communities of Care in the COVID Era

http://susan.sered.name/blog/bubbling-up-promoting-communities-of-care-in-the-covid-era/

 

Thematic areas: Economic Impacts; Gender Inequality.  Submitted by: Teboho Moja

Newspaper article: The day the bottom fell out of South Africa – a triple pandemic has hit us:

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-07-15-the-day-the-bottom-fell-out-of-south-africa-a-triple-pandemic-has-hit-us/#gsc.tab=0

 

Thematic areas: Economic reopening/restructuring; Social Relations.  Submitted by:  Rhoda Reddock

Commentary:  http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20200514/rosalea-hamilton-dont-reopen-economy-restructure-it#.XywHrxDfx8g.email

 

Thematic areas: Female Entrepreneurship; Indigenous Women.  Submitted by: Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente

Newspaper article: Coronavirus en Bolivia: mujeres indígenas bordan historias en sus mascarillas (The hands of indigenous women in Bolivia embroider stories in their masks).

https://www.msn.com/es-xl/noticias/otras/las-manos-de-mujeres-ind%C3%ADgenas-en-bolivia-bordan-historias-en-sus-mascarillas/ar-BB155vQp

 

Thematic areas: Gender&Crisis; Women’s work.  Submitted by:  Elżbieta Korolczuk

Organizationational article: Crisis is gendered. Women in the times of pandemic | Heinrich Böll Stiftung | Warsaw office – Poland.

https://pl.boell.org/en/2020/04/29/czy-kryzys-ma-plec-kobiety-w-czasach-pandemii

 

Thematic areas: Gender&Disabilities; Global Health.  Submitted by: Rhoda Reddock

Organizational report:  COVID-19 at the Intersection of Gender and Disability: Findings of a Global Human Rights Survey, March to April 2020

https://womenenabled.org/blog/covid-19-survey-findings/

 

Thematic areas: Gender&Epidemics; Crisis&Recovery.  Submitted by: Kripa Basnyat

Blog: 2015 Nepal Earthquake lessons for COVID-19: How to put women at the forefront of the crisis and recovery

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2020/04/25/2015-nepal-earthquake-lessons-for-covid-19-how-to-put-women-at-the-forefront-of-the-crisis-and-recovery/’

 

Thematic areas: Gender-Related Factors; Inclusive Statistics.   Submitted by: Daniela Jauk

Blog: Communicating about COVID-19 and Sex Disparities: A Guide for Media, Scientists, Public Health Officials, and Educators.

https://www.genderscilab.org/blog/covid-communication

 

Thematic areas: Gender&Health; Pandemics.   Submitted by: Susan Sered

Blog: Coronavirus Pandemic: A Women’s Health Issue

http://susan.sered.name/blog/coronavirus-pandemic-a-womens-health-issue/

 

Thematic areas: Gender-Based Violence; Domestic Violence.   Submitted by: Namrata Sharma

Newspaper article: In Nepal lockdown, a domestic violence spike.  Gender-based violence has become a shadow pandemic to COVID-19:

https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/in-nepal-lockdown-a-domestic-violencespike/?fbclid=IwAR0AncdiyPc29b8ZzQisRRPUCfC1KRf564Nr05MvXfWLQXTLKMlwcfEYaCQ

 

Thematic areas: Health care; Households.   Submitted by: Susan Sered

Blog: Household Goods: The Case for Health Care Reform

http://susan.sered.name/blog/household-goods-the-case-for-health-care-reform/

 

Thematic areas: Health care; Health Inequalities.   Submitted by: Susan Sered

Blog: Social Values and the Rationing of Health Care

http://susan.sered.name/blog/social-values-and-the-rationing-of-health-care/

 

Thematic areas: Indigenous Health; Contagion Threats.   Submitted by: Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente

Organizational article: Cherasi*: la enfermedad por contacto que amenaza al pueblo Yuqui  (Cherasi *: the contact disease that threatens the Yuqui people).

https://chaskiclandestina.org/2020/06/09/cherasi-la-enfermedad-por-el-contacto-que-amenaza-al-pueblo-yuqui/#_ftnref1

 

Thematic areas: Indigenous Health; Government Policies.  Submitted by: Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente

Organizational article: COVID-19: Atención sanitaria a pueblos indígenas se garantiza con promotores comunales (COVID-19: Health care for indigenous peoples is guaranteed with community promoters).

http://www.aidesep.org.pe/taxonomy/term/147

 

Thematic areas: Indigeneous Women; Indigeneous Knowledge.   Submitted by: Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente

Organizational article: COVID-19: ¿Cómo lo enfrentan las mujeres desde los saberes ancestrales?  (COVID-19: How do women face it from ancestral knowledge?)

https://www.servindi.org/actualidad-noticias/07/07/2020/edit-como-enfrentan-las-mujeres-indigenas-el-covid-19-desde-los?fbclid=IwAR1pz02BUU-qEweeH4wZ1mzy5d5SP6XuorITwNHJ1S7yMe7-VpQ9z3w7sKE

 

Thematic areas: Indigenous Women Leadership; Indigenous Medicine.  Submitted by: Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente

Organizational article: Remedios del monte: Indígenas Amazónicos de Bolivia lanzan un recetario de medicinas ancestrales (Remedios del monte: Amazonian Indigenous People of Bolivia Launch a Recipe Book of Ancient Medicines).

https://debatesindigenas.org/notas/45-remedios-del-monte.html

 

Thematic areas: Indigenous Women; Environmental Equity.  Submitted by: Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente

Organizational article: Covid-19: Persisten brechas de desigualdad y mujeres campesinas e indígenas son las más afectadas (Covid-19: Inequality gaps persist and rural and indigenous women are the most affected)

https://www.noticiasfides.com/nacional/sociedad/covid-19-persisten-las-brechas-de-desigualdad-y-las-mujeres-campesinas-e-indigenas-son-las-mas-afectadas–405435

 

Thematic areas: Indigenous Women; Food insecurity.   Submitted by: Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente

Organizational article: OPS alerta sobre impacto “desproporcionado” de COVID-19 en indígenas y mujeres  (PAHO alerts on “disproportionate” impact of COVID-19 on indigenous and women)

https://www.la-razon.com/mundo/2020/05/19/ops-alerta-sobre-impacto-desproporcionado-covid-19-indigenas-mujeres/

 

Thematic areas: Indigenous Women Leadership; Indigeneous People’s Rights.  Submitted by: Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente

Organizational article: Organización de Mujeres Indígenas demandan a gobierno de Perú ante crisis por Covid-19 (Indigenous Women’s Organization sue the government of Peru in the face of crisis for Covid-19)

 https://ciudadccs.info/2020/07/05/organizacion-de-mujeres-indigenas-demandan-a-gobierno-de-peru-ante-crisis-por-covid-19/

 

Thematic areas: Indigenous Community; Ethnocide.   Submitted by: Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente

Organizational article: Entre el abandono y el etnocidio. Pueblos indígenas y COVID-19 en Bolivia. (Between abadonment and Ethnocide: Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19 in Bolivia)

https://debatesindigenas.org/notas/55-abandono-etnocidio.html

 

Thematic areas: Indigenous Knowledges; Alternative Development.   Submitted by: Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente

Organizational article: El Sumak Kausai frente al COVID-19 (The Sumak Kausai Versus the COVID-19)

https://debatesindigenas.org/notas/52-sumak-kausai-covid-19.html

 

Thematic areas: Migration; Social Protection.   Submitted by: Kripa Basnyat

Newspaper Article: An unequal world for migrant workers: What migrants need most is comprehensive social protection which will strengthen their capacity to cope

https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2020/04/20/an-unequal-world-for-migrant-workers

 

Thematic areas: Migration; Indigenous Peoples.   Submitted by: Shelene Gomes

Blog: Gomes, Shelene and Elahie, Elron. 2020. The Nonchalance of Structural Disadvantage: Trinidad and Tobago and Covid 19. Blog post, Observatório do CEMI – COVID 19, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil, 30th June.

https://cemiunicamp.com.br/observatorio-no-68/

Thematic areas: National Recovery; Socio-economics.  Submitted by: Rhoda Reddock

Organizational Statement: Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action, Trinidad and Tobago

Submission on Road to Recovery.   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ya3hGTxch-4xBC8Cx8pQSUH11-plFCWgCt34cjHY7R0/edit?usp=sharing


Thematic areas: “Normalcy”; Common Good.  Submitted by: Susan Sered

Blog: “I’ve Been Through Worse”: Feeling “Normal” in the COVID Era  http://susan.sered.name/blog/ive-been-through-worse-feeling-normal-in-the-covid-era/

 

Thematic areas: Residential Addiction Recovery; Quarantine.   Submitted by: Susan Sered

Blog: (Not) Safe at Home.  http://susan.sered.name/blog/not-safe-at-home/

 

Thematic areas: Social Inequalities.   Submitted by: Shelene Gomes

Blog collection of international voices on COVID (Many from Africa): Corona Times: Understanding the World through the Covid-19 Pandemic.

https://www.coronatimes.net/

 

Thematic areas: Social Inequalities.  Submitted by: Shelene Gomes

Blog collection of international voices on COVID (Many from South/Central America): Observatório do CEMI – COVID 19, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil, blog:

https://cemiunicamp.com.br/observatorio-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR081LSm-tlZg-j1_Yy5iUVvYTBLJstpl6zaGk0P3GdrO3MVvuQXUEjtioA

 

Thematic areas: Social Inequalities. Submitted by: Shelene Gomes

Comprehensive collection using social scientific and humanities analyses on education; life cycle; gender inequality; health; race/ethnicity; indigenous rights; mobility; violence; labor; economy; geopolitics: Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales.

https://www.clacso.org/pensar-la-pandemia-observatorio-social-del-coronavirus/

 

Thematic areas: Social Responses to Adversity; Challenging ‘Resilience’.  Submitted by: Susan Sered

Blog: “Heroic Resilience” in the Era of COVID-19

http://susan.sered.name/blog/heroic-resilience-in-the-era-of-covid-19/

 

Thematic areas: Solidarity/Social Movements; Class.   Submitted by: Shelene Gomes

Scholarly article (approximately 500 words):  Gomes, Shelene. 2020. A Return to Class Solidarity. Social Anthropology/Anthropologie Sociale 28 (1), COVID-19 Forum.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1469-8676.12831

 

Thematic areas: Trafficking; Literacy.   Submitted by: Namrata Sharma

Newspaper article: Child marriages up during Nepal lockdown – Campaign to keep girls in school may now need to refocus on keeping them at home

https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/child-marriages-up-during-nepal-lockdown/

 

Thematic areas: Urban Poverty; Slow Violence.   Submitted by: Shelene Gomes

Scholarly article (approximately 500 words): Bulamah, Rodrigo Charafeddine. 2020. Times and Metaphors of Pandemics. Social Anthropology/Anthropologie Sociale 28 (1), COVID-19 Forum.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1469-8676.12866

 

Thematic areas: War; Peace.   Submitted by: Susan Sered

Blog: Why ‘Waging War’ on Coronavirus is a Dangerous Metaphor

http://susan.sered.name/blog/why-waging-war-on-coronavirus-is-a-dangerous-metaphor/


 

SWS COVID-19 TEACHING RESOURCES: COURSE MATERIAL

Women’s Rights, CEDAW, and Its Application Globally

Compilation by the SWS CEDAW Subcommittee:  Amy C. Agigian, Vicky Demos (chair), Nicole S. Fox, Rodica Lisnic, Nancy Martin, Chanmolis Mout, Shuchi Sanyal, Zoe M. Thornhill

This packet contains resources for a module on the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and its relevance to COVID-19. Included in the packet is a copy of the convention; relevant papers or articles about it and its application to gender in the United States; examples of the relevance of CEDAW to COVID-19, particularly as it applies to violence against women and migrants globally; examples of student assignments; and a listing of relevant websites. There is a wealth of resources available through the UN on gender inequality and ways to combat it. While not all of the UN material included here explicitly references CEDAW, it is informed by it.

The materials in this packet are diverse and lend themselves to teaching about CEDAW and COVID-19 globally. They are also relevant to teaching about CEDAW and COVID-19 as they apply to the United States. Attention to CEDAW and the United States is not only of local interest, but of global also. As the most powerful nation in the world and as one of the five nation-members of the UN Security Council, the United States and its policies are of international relevance. Aside from gender courses, a module on CEDAW and COVD-19 could be incorporated into introductory sociology and other lower-level general social science courses as well as upper level courses on such topics as the United Nations, poverty, and social movements.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EDLulyHuX_3ECwHJFBYqCMSZ1jjGnjxE/view?usp=sharing (New Link)

“Education and International Development” course’s team at the University of Amsterdam. The team is comprised of Dr Mieke Lopes Cardozo from  the University of Amsterdam – T.A.LopesCardozo@uva.nl; Melina Merdanović from the University of Amsterdam – m.merdanovic@uva.nl; Aye Aye Nyein – Independent Researcher in Yangon – aayenyein@gmail.com; Naw Tha Ku Paul (Mie Mie) from PointB within Myanmar- nawnawpaul@gmail.com; Roxana Dumitrescu from the University of Amsterdam – r.s.dumitrescu@uva.nl.

Our contribution has been part of the aforementioned BA course, during which we aimed to co-create an innovative, supportive, challenging and safe virtual learning space that emphasised the students’ wellbeing. For this, we have designed and asked students to fill in a weekly check-in survey which helped us stay connected to them, their experience and learning process throughout this course and these stressful times. Additionally, the virtual nature of the course allowed us to collaborate with Aye Aye Nyein and Naw Tha Ku Paul, two practitioners from Myanmar with whom Dr Mieke Lopes Cardozo collaborated on the Research Consortium on Education and Peacebuilding in Myanmar. They represented a key aspect of the course, helping us create the COVID-19 recorded session, which we are submitting alongside a list of relevant resources we have collected on the topic.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11dC4SsqT8BhxNezdx8LhITukuetbNVUL21Lv1uoYbRo/edit?usp=sharing

We recorded the Covid-19 lecture as part of a mini-series on IDS and COVID-19 organised by the International Development Studies department at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), and we included it in our course given its relevance to our students and the current environment. For this mini-series, we engaged in a conversation on the impact of Covid-19 on education worldwide, and more specifically on higher education and education opportunities for young people in both Myanmar and the Netherlands.  Youtube link for the recorded lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbmMNgWE25Q&feature=youtu.be

Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YwD3Hm3HHhYZvzBOeEIuAcSrTXpBLDm3/view?usp=sharing

Undergraduate Gender Course Lecture with additional readings

“Gender Inequality and the COVID – 19 Pandemic”

Carolyn Cummings Perrucci

Purdue University

This lecture comes from Sociology 450, Gender Roles in Modern Society, an undergraduate sociology course at Purdue University. It consists of three parts. First is a discussion of the relation of the COVID-19 pandemic to the social problem of gender inequality.   Second is a description of the mostly inadequate sources of data that exist about this problem. And third are suggested policy and social actions that can alleviate the problem. Suggested readings conclude the lecture.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cMpsRy_vbuLIGTO0qHoC6lB0la0fQQ2rsEexQmcxEvg/edit?usp=sharing


CONTRIBUTORS:

Kripa Basnyat

A staunch feminist with more than 10 years’ experience of working on peacebuilding and reconciliation; women’s economic, social and cultural rights; gender equality and social inclusion through research and policy advocacy, collective movement building, leadership development and capacity strengthening. She has an experience of working with feminist human rights, international development organizations, regional networks and academic institution in South Asia, East Africa and UK applying intersectional approaches. Kripa recently completed M.Sc in Inequalities and Social Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is a 2018-19 Atlantic Senior Fellow for Social and Economic Equity. She can be found at twitter handle @kripa_basnyat.

Carolyn Cummings Perrucci

Professor of Sociology and Affiliate Faculty in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. She has published five books and over 60 articles and book chapters in the areas of gender, work, and family. Dr. Perrucci has held elected offices as President of the North Central Sociological Association, Vice President of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, and Council of the American Sociological Association. Currently, she serves on the Advisory Board of Social Problems. Ongoing research focuses on gender and department ranking on publication in sociology journals. Email: perruccic@purdue.edu

Shelene Gomes

A Caribbean socio-cultural anthropologist based at The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine campus in Trinidad and Tobago. She has done ethnographic field work in East Africa tracing the linkages between diasporic imaginings and the Caribbean. Among other venues, her work has appeared in African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal, Tout Moun: Caribbean Journal of Cultural Studies, The Global South, and Virtual Brazilian Anthropology. Email: shelene.gomes@sta.uwi.edu

Daniela Jauk, PhD

Assistant Professor for Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Akron, Ohio. She received a Masters in Sociology from the University of Graz in her home country Austria and completed her Ph.D. in Sociology as a Fulbright student at the University of Akron/OH in 2013. Her areas of research interest and teaching are gender and sexualities, inequality in the criminal justice system, and qualitative methods. She is currently working on clinical sociology projects and research around gardening in carceral settings.

Elżbieta Korolczuk

A sociologist, commentator and women’s and human rights activist. She analyzes social movements, civil society, politics of reproduction and gender. Recent books include a co-authored volume Women’s Rebellion. Black Protests and Women’s Strikes published by European Solidarity Centre and a book Anti-gender Campaigns, Right-Wing Populism and the Future of Feminism written with Agnieszka Graff (in press at Routledge).

Iblin Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente

Recently graduated with a M.A. in sociology at The University of Toledo. Her thesis focused on the experiences of Bolivian disabled women. She will begin her PhD program at the University of Florida this fall. Her areas of interest for research are transnational feminism, global south disability studies and activism.

Susan Starr Sered, PhD

An author, speaker, and scholar whose work explores women’s health, human rights, mass incarceration, religion, and gender equity. Professor of Sociology at Suffolk University, Susan Sered is the author of seven books and numerous scholarly and popular articles. Her most recent books include: Can’t Catch a Break: Gender, Jail, Drugs, and the Limits of Personal Responsibility and Uninsured in America: Life and Death in the Land of Opportunity. She currently serves as Director of Suffolk University’s Graduate Program in Crime and Justice Studies.

Namrata Sharma

With over 30 years of work experience in Journalism and women’s rights and has been a campaigner to abolish Violence Against Women. She has work experience in Nepal, UK, Kenya, India. She was one of the first woman editors in Nepal of a weekly English Newspaper The Independent during the early ‘90s.  She is the Founder of Centre for Micro-Finance in Nepal and the first Director of the Indian School of Microfinance for Women, Ahmedabad, India. She has been a Visiting Research Fellow with The University of Bath Namrata has headed the Knowledge Management and Training department of MicroSave India.

Current Position:

Freelance Journalist. Columnist: The Rising Nepal.  Regular Contributer: Nepali Times.

Immediate Past President (first woman President) of Center for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) Nepal

Advisor: CIJ Nepal

namratasharma@cijnepal.org; namrata1964@yahoo.com; URL: http://www.cijnepal.org.np

Publisher/Editor, Nariswor, (Women Voice…a quarterly Magazine)

Lecturer for Bachelor Students on: Gender Studies and Social Entrepreneurship, Kadambary College