Hello EPIC friends,
As ethnographers we are tenacious, resilient, curious, improvisational, thoughtful, and reflective. It is ironic that the thing we do best—being on the ground with people—is exactly not what we should be doing at this time. For most of us, without doubt, it’s a profoundly disconcerting state. If only that were all. As individuals, parents, friends, children, partners, neighbors, employers and employees, and citizens, each update to our newsfeed is a harbinger of future disruption to life-as-lived. Scrambling, worried, unmoored are probably pretty good descriptors around the globe.
What can we do? As a community we can decode, absorb, navigate some of the ramifications of a global pandemic for our work and communities. As ethnographers we understand that a pandemic is a complex medical, social, cultural, and economic phenomenon. As a community we can bring our talents to bear and EPIC is committed to being tenacious, resilient, curious, improvisational…as we navigate uncertain futures. When you can, please join us.
- Gather online on March 23 for an EPIC Talk, Work/Life in the Pandemic: Strategies and Support
- Submit to EPIC2020—deadline extended! Co-chairs Alex Zafiroglu and Tania Lewis were prescient in their conference theme of SCALE, and we are planning a spectacular program in Melbourne, 25–28 October. Our goal is to be on site, but we are making additional plans to exist virtually. Read the Call for Participation and info about planning for Covid-19.
- Join EPIC Talks all year: Presented by and for our community all year, Talks foster engagement and expansion of skills and thinking. If you can’t check in live, the video library awaits you.
With your help we are creating new kinds of participation. If you have talents in time- and place-shifted conference experiences and would like to get involved, please get in touch! If there are ways we can support your professional efforts, do let us know!
With best wishes,
Rita, Jennifer, and the EPIC Board
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