In response to the coronavirus pandemic, faculty at the University of Notre Dame鈥檚 have created the new blog a hub for research and policy insights dedicated to upholding human dignity around the world. While initial blog posts will be written by Keough 91视频 faculty, the group of contributors will be expanded to include the wider University community and beyond. Once the pandemic has waned, Dignity and Development will broaden its focus to additional timely global issues.
Launched on April 22, Dignity and Development draws upon diverse expertise from religious scholars, political scientists, anthropologists, psychologists, ethicists, historians, engineers, international development specialists and other academics and professionals in a variety of sectors and fields. The blog aims to bring scholars and practitioners into dialogue, fostering creative solutions to global challenges.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed levels of human suffering and inequality that are now impossible to ignore, wrote Scott Appleby, the Marilyn Keough Dean, in
鈥淭he COVID-19 pandemic did not create these conditions 鈥� they have too long existed 鈥� but it has exacerbated them for millions of Americans and billions of people around the world,鈥� Appleby said. 鈥淲hat is more, the deadly virus and its devastating economic consequences have extended the circle of vulnerability to untold numbers, who now know what it means to have their livelihoods, dignity and very lives endangered.鈥�
Despite the risk of raising false hopes, Appleby asserts that COVID-19 presents an opportunity to approach global problems from a new perspective.
鈥淐an we nonetheless imagine a world emerging from the pandemic, chastened but with new eyes to see, in which discussions about what has been revealed to us in the global crisis take center stage?鈥� he said.
To date, Dignity and Development has addressed a variety of issues related to COVID-19: the plight of migrant workers, the role of religious leaders, new dilemmas for researchers engaged in fieldwork, and the unprecedented need for international cooperation among global leaders. A common thread running through the blog posts is a commitment to analyzing issues through the lens of a positive vision of human flourishing at the heart of the Keough 91视频鈥檚 academic mission.
Along with , co-editors of the blog are , assistant professor of psychology and peace studies, and professor of social ethics.