When This Is Over: Reflections on an Unequal Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound and persistent impact – a tragic loss of life, changes to established patterns of life and social inequalities laid bare. It brought out the good in many and the worst in others, and raised questions around what is truly important in our lives.

In this book, academics, activists and artists come together to remember, and to reflect on, the pandemic. What lessons should we learn? How can things be different when this is over?

Sensitive to inequalities of gender, race and class, the book highlights the experience of marginalised and minority groups, and the unjust and uneven spread of violence, deprivation and death. It combines academic analysis with personal testimonies, poetry and images from contributors including Sue Black, Led By Donkeys, Lara-Rose Iredale, Michael Rosen and Gary Younge.

This truly inclusive commemorative overview honours the experience of a global disaster lived up close, and suggests the steps needed to ensure we do better next time.

Amy Cortvriend, is a Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Northampton, UK. She has worked for various refugee charities to promote the rights of, and encourage empowerment for, people seeking safety in the UK.

Lucy Easthope is Professor in Practice of Risk and Hazard at the University of Durham and Fellow in Mass Fatalities and Pandemics at the Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath, UK.

Jenny Edkins is Honorary Professor of Politics at the University of Manchester and Emeritus Professor in the International Politics Department, Aberystwyth University, UK.

Kandida Purnell is Associate Professor of International Relations at Richmond, The American International University in London, UK.