Gender Justice, Social Cohesion, The Social Sciences and Covid-19: Opportunities and Challenges for Higher Education

Abstract

This chapter examines the role that the social sciences and humanities can play to ensure that Covid-19 impacts, which are complex and multidimensional, are sufficiently researched. The argument is made that the contributions of the humanities and social sciences should be integrated into research, policy, interventions, and curricula. The chapter thus interrogates the role which the social sciences and humanities can have in terms of various and varied responses to the pandemic. We also argue that the pandemic affects women differently and that researchers, irrespective of discipline, will not be successful in terms of interventions, both medical and social, if interventions are gender neutral. Our position is that this is a moment for the social sciences and humanities as equal partners with the medical sciences to mainstream gender justice interventions in curriculum, research, and engagement. We draw on secondary sources, as well as primary research undertaken to assess the environment for social science research in South Africa prior to the pandemic. In relation to the primary research, pertinent results are presented from a Global Development Network (GDN) funded project that the authors were involved in (Potgieter, Bob & Sooryamoorty, 2016).