As we continue reading the newly published volume Fundamental Challenges to Global Peace and Security: The Future of Humanity we come to the first of the section introductions. Continue reading
Tag Archives: pandemic
What happened to happiness?
This blogpost by Dr. Tiffani Betts Razavi was first published on The International Educator. The original post can be viewed here.
COVID-19 caused 2 million deaths in 2020 – an increase of almost 4% in the worldwide annual death rates – and left the living with “greater economic insecurity, anxiety, disruption of every aspect of life, and, for many people, stress and challenges to mental and physical health.” In the midst of these extraordinary conditions, what happened to happiness? Continue reading
Upcoming Virtual Event: The Colors of COVID-19: Confronting Health Disparities During a Global Pandemic
February 16, 2021
2pm – 3.30pm
Virtual – Register in advance at https://tinyurl.com/bahai-colors (link is external)
Professor Stephen B. Thomas, Professor, Health Policy and Management and Director, Maryland Center for Health Equity
Abstract:
Never in our lives have we experienced such a global phenomenon. For the first time in history, the world has come together, focused on the same existential threat, consumed by the same fears and uncertainties, eagerly anticipating the same, yet unrealized, promises of medical science. In a matter of months, human civilization has been brought low by the novel SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), a microscopic parasite 10,000 times smaller than a grain of salt. COVID-19 attacks our physical bodies, but also the cultural foundations of our lives. Depending upon how we respond, our lives, and literally our way of life, hangs in the balance. Continue reading
Welcome to Spring Semester 2021
The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace welcomes everyone back to Spring Semester 2021. While we are still living through challenging times, progress is being made and we are hopeful that we can see each other soon.
All of our events this semester will be held online only as we continue to operate in a time of uncertainty. We are committed to ensuring the safety of our wider community and holding our events in a virtual format allows us to do this. Continue reading
Insight: A Conversation on Climate Science, Policy & Justice
This is an insight written by Sara Rissanen on the recent Bahá’í Chair for World Peace Annual Lecture, a Conversation on Climate Science, Policy & Justice with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson held on September 17, 2020 Continue reading
Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic – Professor Hoda Mahmoudi
This has been a sorrowful moment. Racial unrest. Economic dislocation. The ravages of Covid-19. There has been death, and there will be more. All of us have somehow been shaped by this ‘Year of Covid’. Even those not directly touched – that is to say, from a personal encounter of the disease or by a loved one’s personal encounter – have seen fundamental changes in our way of life. We all bear witness to the sorrow that comes as we witness the end of an age, the closing of a well-known world. We have missed new opportunities, new chances of recognition and acceptance. We have all lost something, whether big or small. All should craft a small space to grieve, to process, and to consider. Continue reading
Radical Hope Amid Catastrophe – Vafa Ghazavi
This reflection written by Vafa Ghazavi is included in the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
It was previously published in Public Seminar, an independent project of The New School Publishing Initiative. Continue reading
Globalization, Pandemics and Shared Insecurity – Professor Simon Dalby
This is a reflection written by Professor Simon Dalby for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
This post was originally published by the Balsillie School of International Affairs and the original post can be viewed here.
How to reduce the racial gap in COVID-19 deaths – Professor Rashawn Ray
This is a reflection written by Professor Rashawn Ray, David M. Rubenstein Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, and Professor of Sociology and Executive Director of the Lab for Applied Social Science Research (LASSR) at the University of Maryland, College Park. The blogpost is included in the series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic and was originally published on the Fixgov blog of Brookings.
Still protected: Employed mothers-to-be in the land of milk and honey during the COVID-19 pandemic – Dr. Orna Blumen and Naama Bar-On Shmilovitch
This is a reflection written by Professor Orna Blumen, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, Department of Human Services, University of Haifa, Israel, and Naama Bar-on Shmilovitch, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences and the manager of the Center for the Study of Organizations & Human Resource Management at the University of Haifa, for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Bearing witness to the ableism embedded within the pandemic – Dr. Audra Buck-Coleman, Dr. Cheryl Fogle-Hatch and Robin Marquis
This is a reflection written by Dr. Audra Buck-Coleman, Dr. Cheryl Fogle-Hatch and Robin Marquis. Buck-Coleman is an Associate Professor and director of the Graphic Design program at the University of Maryland, College Park. Fogle-Hatch is the founder of MuseumSenses, a Baltimore-based advocacy studio that researches and develops multisensory experiences for galleries, museums and other cultural organizations. Marquis is a Baltimore-based artist, facilitator, disability activist and accessibility consultant. They currently serve as the Community Outreach Coordinator for Access Smithsonian, the central accessibility office for the Smithsonian Institution.
During the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters, Buck-Coleman’s students worked with Fogle-Hatch, Marquis and others from the disability community to create an exhibit entitled Redefine/ABLE: Challenging Inaccessibility. The following is an asynchronous conversation about society’s treatment of those with disabilities during the pandemic written for the series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The media in our children’s lives – have our views changed? Professor Dafna Lemish
This is a reflection written by Professor Dafna Lemish, Professor and Associate Dean at the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University, for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The Great Pandemic and Lessons (we failed to learn) from History – Professor Joseph L. Graves Jr.
This is a reflection written by Professor Joseph L. Graves Jr. Professor of Biological Sciences at North Carolina A&T State University and UNC Greensboro, for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Continue reading
Rethinking our Definition of National Security – Caroline Corbett
This is a reflection written by Caroline Corbett, Program Manager at Chemonics International, for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Continue reading
The Other Epidemic: Human Rights Abuse and Dehumanization – Professor Alison Brysk
This is a reflection written by Professor Alison Brysk, Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Professor of Global Governance at the University of California, Santa Barbara, for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Moving out under COVIDs shadow – Tactical Urbanism and Being Partisan – Dr. Melissa Nursey Bray
This is a reflection written by Dr. Melissa Nursey Bray, Associate Professor at the Department of Geography, Environment and Population, Faculty of Arts, University of Adelaide, South Australia, for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Quarantine and Solitary Confinement – Mahvash Sabet
This is a reflection written by Mahvash Sabet, poet poet, psychology teacher, and member of the Baha’i Yaran for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
For Mahvash Sabet – poet, psychology teacher, and member of the Baha’i Yaran – who experienced severe solitary confinement during a ten year sentence in the prisons of Iran, there is a certain irony in now being confined with all her compatriots, outside their walls as a result of the current epidemic. But although the two experiences can hardly be compared, her insights might resonate with readers at this time.
This piece has been adapted and shortened from the original Persian, courtesy of the on-line magazine “aaSoo” (https://www.aasoo.org.)
Pandemics, Borders and Crisis in a Globalized World – Professor Simon Dalby
This is a reflection written by Professor Simon Dalby for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
This post was originally published by the Balsillie School of International Affairs and the original post can be viewed here. Continue reading
Centered Around a Common Purpose – Dr. Nasim Ahmadiyeh M.D., Ph.D
This is a reflection written by Dr. Nasim Ahmadiyeh M.D., Ph.D for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
There is no cure for one infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus which can cause the disease commonly known as COVID-19. All we can do is wait it out, support the body and hope the immune system can fight the virus and survive its scourge. Ironically, or perhaps poetically, what is needed to fight the virus in one body, can lend insight into what is needed to fight the virus globally.
Learning from the Current Crisis – Professor Peter N. Stearns
This is a reflection written by Professor Peter N. Stearns for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The suffering and dislocation caused by the recent pandemic legitimately provoke all sorts of thoughts, including many constructive suggestions about how we can build on short term response to construct a better society and, more specifically, seek to prepare better for similar crises in the future. I certainly hope some good can indeed emerge. Continue reading
Learning During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Reflection Series From The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace
Once again, we find ourselves in a crisis that is global in nature.
The Coronavirus outbreak is the great tragedy of our era. The pandemic has disrupted virtually every aspect of the systems that hold up our global and local society. Sadly, we do not seem to have in place what could help us to overcome this crisis. Continue reading