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Gli storici sanno molto sulle epidemie nel lontano e recente passato, ma abbiamo un ruolo legittimo da svolgere in questo momento? Forse il nostro primo compito è quello di guardarci da confronti e analogie troppo veloci, scegliendo invece di combattere il panico con le prove e il contesto. Un accademico di tutto rispetto ha paragonato la crisi in corso agli uragani che colpiscono un centinaio di grandi città contemporaneamente. Beh, no. Il modello di preoccupazione, i costi e la distruzione sono diversi; COVID-19 non causerà alcun danno strutturale immediato, nessuna perdita di elettricità, nessun guasto ai sistemi idrici, nessuna inondazione.I confronti con altre epidemie dovrebbero essere fatti con cautela. Nel valutare le risposte diffuse e popolari alle epidemie, siamo sicuri di trovare reazioni di paura, odio e capro espiatorio; lo vediamo accadere oggi, diretto soprattutto alla Cina e, più dolorosamente, agli americani asiatici.Lo studio storico delle epidemie può darci un quadro più sfumato della risposta umana e dell'impatto delle epidemie in tutto il mondo.Gli storici possono aiutare a spiegare perché alcune culture, gruppi e individui hanno reagito alle epidemie in modi particolari; quanto sia difficile o facile cambiare questi modi; o perché la paura e il disgusto hanno spesso radici più profonde e diverse rispetto al terrore dell'infezione. Gli storici comprendono le differenze culturali, sociali, intellettuali, religiose e filosofiche che condizionano le risposte umane.Historiker wissen viel über Epidemien in der fernen und jüngsten Vergangenheit, aber haben wir in dieser Zeit eine legitime Rolle zu spielen? Vielleicht besteht unsere erste Aufgabe darin, uns vor zu schnellen Vergleichen und Analogien zu hüten und stattdessen die Panik mit Beweisen und Kontexten zu bekämpfen. Ein angesehener Wissenschaftler verglich die gegenwärtige Krise mit Wirbelstürmen, die hundert Großstädte auf einmal treffen. Nun, nein. Das Muster der Besorgnis, der Kosten und der Zerstörung ist anders; COVID-19 wird keine unmittelbaren strukturellen Schäden, keinen Stromausfall, keinen Ausfall des Wassersystems und keine Überschwemmungen verursachen.Vergleiche mit anderen Epidemien sind mit Vorsicht anzustellen. Wenn wir die weit verbreiteten und populären Reaktionen auf Epidemien beurteilen, werden wir sicherlich Reaktionen der Angst, des Hasses und des Sündenbocks finden; wir sehen, dass dies heute geschieht, hauptsächlich gegen China und, was noch schmerzlicher ist, gegen asiatische Amerikaner.Die historische Untersuchung von Epidemien kann uns ein nuancierteres Bild der menschlichen Reaktion und der Auswirkungen von Epidemien auf der ganzen Welt vermitteln.Historiker können helfen zu erklären, warum bestimmte Kulturen, Gruppen und Einzelpersonen auf Epidemien in besonderer Weise reagiert haben; wie schwierig oder einfach es ist, diese Art und Weise zu ändern; oder warum Angst und Ekel oft tiefere und andere Wurzeln haben als der Terror einer Infektion. Historiker verstehen die kulturellen, sozialen, intellektuellen, religiösen und philosophischen Unterschiede, die menschliche Reaktionen bedingen.THE HISTORIAN AND THE VIRUSA Time Capsule from Mid-MarchMary Lindemann | Apr 22, 2020From: Perspectives on History Historians know a lot about epidemics and have written extensively and intelligently on the subject across time and cultures. What can this accumulated knowledge do to help us understand our encounter with the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19? How might historians use what we know to analyze what is happening now and place it in a historical framework? How can we use that knowledge to inform, even shape, public reactions and policies?&#160;The first response from fellow scholars might be that it is too early to write about an ongoing crisis as history. Writer Sloane Crosley warned authors recently in the New York Times that this isn’t the time for their books on the virus. I began composing this column on March 16, five days after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and advised a policy of social distancing. Soon thereafter (sooner in some countries than others), schools, universities, restaurants, cafés, and coffee shops closed around the world. Remote teaching has begun, and toilet paper has flown off supermarket shelves. Conferences have been canceled, sporting events shut down, and even Spring Break was shelved when Miami Beach was declared off-limits in late March. I am very much aware that what I am writing now might be mostly irrelevant by the time my readers open their print-run Perspectives or click the online version in May 2020. By then, we may be mired even more deeply in what has become a public health, economic, and political crisis of still uncertain dimensions, or the virus may be passing slowly into history—though it will disappear neither entirely nor rapidly, and we will surely experience more microbiological threats in the future. At this moment, historians are eyewitnesses; the time for rigorous historical investigation of a major disease and its impact lies in the future.Continua a leggere qui/Hier geht es weiter https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/may-2020/the-historian-and-the-virus-a-time-capsule-from-mid-march