The Next Pandemic: Roundtable Event

The roundtable will take place in the Samuel Alexander Lecture Theatre and will address the question of the next pandemic.

Date and time: Tuesday 6th December 2022 | 17:15 – 18:30 GMT

Location: Samuel Alexander Lecture Theatre | Samuel Alexander Building | The University of Manchester, M13 9PL 

Roundtable and Q&A: 17:15 – 18:30 

Drinks Reception: 18:30 – 19:45 | North Foyer, Samel Alexander Building
 

This roundtable is organised by the American Politics Group of the UK Political Studies Association with support from the US Embassy, London; the British Association for American Studies; and the Centre for Digital Trust & Security and the School of Arts, Languages & Cultures at the University of Manchester. It is part of ‘Unfolding Our Shared Future: Challenge, Possibility and Potential in the 21st Century’, a travelling festival addressing issues facing the US and UK in domestic, trans-Atlantic and global contexts.

After the Roundtable, attendees are invited to join us in the North Foyer for a drinks reception.

The roundtable will address the question of the next pandemic:

• What lessons have we learned from the Covid pandemic that might help us cope with the next pandemic?

• Should we be more worried about an infodemic or a pandemic—and is there any distinction anymore?

• Is it possible to have healthy scepticism in a pandemic?

• What insights can the arts & humanities and the social sciences provide for understanding pandemics?

Chair:

Peter Knight is professor of American Studies at the University of Manchester, and the author and editor of a dozen books on conspiracy theories, economics and finance in American culture. He is the lead for the Democracy & Trust research cluster at Manchester, and is the co-author with Clare Birchall of Conspiracy Theories in the Time of Covid-19.

Speakers:

Clare Birchall is professor of Contemporary Culture at King’s College London. She is the author of Knowledge Goes Pop: From Conspiracy Theory to Gossip, and Radical Secrecy: The Ends of Transparency in Datafied America. With Peter Knight, she is the co-author of Conspiracy Theories in the Time of Covid-19.

Caitjan Gainty is Senior Lecturer in the History of Science, Technology & Medicine at King’s College London. Her research encompasses the history of health and healthcare in the US and UK, and she is the author of the forthcoming book The Product of Medicine (Duke, 2023). Dr Gainty recently received the Professor Sir Paul Curran Award for excellence in academic communication by The Conversation UK.

Elisa Pieri is a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Manchester. She is an expert on security, biopolitics, science & technology studies, and urban sociology. Her research is on pandemic preparedness and its social implications. Dr Pieri is the author of Pandemics: The Basics (Routledge, 2021).