Since May 2020, researchers at the George Washington University have been studying COVID-19 death, memorialization and misinformation. The project, “Rituals in the Making,” aims to learn more about how rituals changed during the pandemic, how we honored those who died and the impact on frontline workers and families.
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic five years ago on March 11. Researchers who are part of Rituals in the Making are available to comment on what we’ve learned and how we’ve changed as a result of the pandemic.
Sarah Wagner, professor of anthropology, is a social anthropologist whose research explores loss through the lens of war, memory, prolonged mourning, and uncertain death. Since 2020, she has focused on COVID-19 death and remembrance and leads Rituals in the Making.
Roy Richard Grinker, professor of anthropology and international affairs conducts cross-cultural research on mental illness, developmental disorders and stigma. He is the Co-PI of Rituals in the Making and can discuss how families coped with zoom funerals and the prolonged grief that comes along with the isolation the virus imposed on society.
To interview Wagner or Grinker, please contact Kathy Fackelmann, [email protected] or Katelyn Deckelbaum, [email protected].
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