Will the changes that society is now undergoing from the corona outbreak be permanent? What other changes await us? You can count on a “New Common”, say fifty Tilburg scientists in the book “The New Common: How the Covid-19 Pandemic is transforming society“.
This book, edited by Digital Society researchers Margriet Sitskoorn and Ton Wilthagen, describes the transition from the old to a ‘New Common’. The collection aims to provide a popular scientific insight into the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of the social sciences and humanities. With this, the university is responding to the call from the Outbreak Management Team to look at the effects of Covid-19 from other disciplines.
The opportunities and threats in the areas of health care, well-being, young and older generations, local government and participation, and digital technology are discussed. Many authors anticipate an acceleration of the digital transformation of society in the forthcoming years, but at the same time, they argue that a successful shift towards a New Common can only be achieved by re-evaluating life on our planet through strengthening resilience at an individual level and assuming more responsibilities from a societal perspective.
Sitskoorn: “The book the New Common is an impetus to a New Common in which everyone can contribute with their own talents and expertise to the development and formation of our society. An important starting point is that it is not about a static but a dynamic perspective. ”
The book “The New Common: How the Covid-19 Pandemic is transforming society” is published by Tilburg University, ISBN 978-94-6167-432-6 and is available via www.openpresstiu.org