Carnegie Mellon University

Map of Europe

March 31, 2020

Coronavirus: Its Geopolitical and Societal Effects in Europe

It would be perverse to wish the coronavirus lockdown to last any longer than is required for our health and safety. Yet the near-total closure of schools and businesses begs this question: how much time is necessary for the virus to disrupt and dominate our lives for us to adopt long-term changes after it passes? The scientists do not know what effect the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere may have in counteracting the virus, nor do they know whether there will be a second wave of the virus later in 2020. If summer helps to contain the virus and if winter does not bring a resurgence and we revert to the status quo, will a valuable chance to accelerate necessary changes in how we live our lives have been missed?

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maurice-fitzpatrick.jpgMaurice Fitzpatrick is a political filmmaker and author from Ireland. The University of Notre Dame Press has recently republished two of his books. Fitzpatrick is the Heimbold Chair of Irish Studies at Villanova University.

He had been scheduled to present his new film In the Name of Peace: John Hume in America in collaboration with Art, Conflict & Technology in the North of Ireland class and Pitt’s Center for European Studies.