தூரம் – (Social) Distance
Kamala Visweswaran, Chao Center/Anthropology
Every time I see the term “social distancing” my mind hears “duram” (தூரம்) the Tamil word for “distance.”[1] It was used as an interdiction for the distance savarna women in my grandmother’s time were supposed to keep from the rest of the family while menstruating—often in a back room or separate hut—because they were considered impure…read more.
The Perversity of Social Distancing
Social distancing, I’ve decided, is perverse.
Isn’t “distancing” contrary to the very essence of “social”? As human animals, social is what we have done for ages: sharing and gathering close in order to reproduce a way of life interdependently. Yet here we are in the twenty-first century…read more.
More Life
Melissa Weininger, Jewish Studies
In a recent op-ed in The New York Times, sociologist Eric Klinenberg wrote about the need for what he calls “social solidarity” during times of crisis, which he defines as “the interdependence between individuals and across groups.” Instead of thinking about our response to the coronavirus pandemic as “social distancing,” he encourages us to reframe…read more.
Household
Helena Michie, Director of CSWGS
Every few days on my Facebook feed—which I check more than ever now—I see an ad for the 2020 Census. Be counted, it says. Each time I see the ad—after I wonder how many fewer Americans there will be to count by the time counting ends—I think about the first Census I know anything about, the British Census of 1840. That census relied on the relatively new science of statistics and on the soon-to-be-powerful idea of…read more.
Touch
Brian Riedel, Associate Director of CSWGS
Touch
Contact
Intimacy
Distance sharpens them
I rank now by risk now by reward
In faith a future will loosen…read more.
Social Distance highlights the greater distances between us all
Brandon Mack, M.Ed
Pronouns: he/him/his
Activist/Organizer/Educator
Black Lives Matter Houston
One of the unfortunate byproducts of COVID-19/Coronavirus is that it brings to light inequities that already exist within society. As the news has been reporting, the virus is disproportionally affecting communities of color, but most specifically the Black/African American community. The reasons are rooted in many…read more.
Every Home is a Universe: A Short Story in English and Spanish
Gisela Heffes
Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American Studies
48th Avenue. Building 10. 4th floor.
On the morning of Thursday, March 14, Cristina Rodríguez slept more than usual. The night before, she stayed up late watching television. First, the news. Deaths worldwide from the anomaly were increasing everywhere, but especially in Italy and Spain. An extravagance. Shivering under a blanket, sheltered by a brandy and a…read more.
Co-parenting Through a Global Pandemic
Lorena Gauthereau
Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage at the University of Houston
A month ago, I packed toys, books, and science kits, and handed them to my ex-husband. Then I threw my arms around my eight-year-old son, trying to hide the tears streaming down my face, and said goodbye until…read more.
Social Health
Chelsea Clark, Houston, TX
Humans are social beings. Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, we are all beings that seek community for our interests, our pain, and our goals because finding community is connected to our identity. I’m reminded of the year I was transitioning to 7th grade, and my mother challenged me to…read more.
Behind the Mask
Jacqueline Couti
Classical and European Studies
With each passing day, shrouded in their glaring ineptitude and unreliability, many governments embarked upon an obscene merry-go-round. Our survival and well-being were none of their concern. The economy and money on the other hand . . . These governments’ sharp U-turns leave us dizzy, all but reeling from whip-lash…read more.
The ZOOM Society
Mary Kay Dauria
Cancer Research Advocate
Six weeks ago Zoom was not in my vocabulary as a proper noun. Just a brief six weeks ago I was learning to maneuver Zoom, use chat, block and unblock microphones and find best photo angles. Now my life is consumed with Zoom!…read more.
Ode to My Relationship with a Scanner: Now Past
Meredith McCullough
Department of English; CSWGS Certificate Student
Once I thought up a mnemonic
To be taken as a tonic
Immunity to boring scanning.
You see, without the proper planning….read more.
Physical Distancing as Social Action
Kelly McKisson
Department of English
Feminist scholars have long theorized how the comfort of our bodies is maintained by the labor of others. The fragile ecologies in which we make our lives are maintained collectively by our relations with others, by their bodies. “However we choose to think of the social body,” Eula Biss writes, “we are each other’s environment.” What we often understand as…read more.
What Social Distancing Means to One Non-Social Media User
Angela Wren Wall
CSWGS Administrator
When I started hearing daily use of the term “social distancing,” I became unsettled….read more.
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