From social distancing to social containment: reimagining sociality for the coronavirus pandemic

Long, Nicholas J. ORCID: 0000-0002-4088-1661 (2020) From social distancing to social containment: reimagining sociality for the coronavirus pandemic. Medicine Anthropology Theory, 7 (2). 247 – 260. ISSN 2405-691X

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Abstract

This essay develops an anthropological critique of ‘social distancing’. While the 2020 coronavirus pandemic requires us to reconfigure established forms of sociality, distancing regimes such as ‘lockdowns’ can profoundly disrupt the provision of care and support, creating practical difficulties and existential suffering. I advocate instead for strategies of ‘social containment’, outlining several of the containment arrangements people in England have developed to reconcile relational obligations with public health imperatives during the pandemic. I end by addressing some of the steps anthropologists must take when translating such ideas into policy.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.medanthrotheory.org/
Additional Information:	© 2020 The Author
Divisions:	Anthropology
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Date Deposited:	20 Mar 2020 17:42
Last Modified:	17 Oct 2024 16:35
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/103801

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