Various pandemic measures have been taken all over the world to stop the spread of COVID-19; these measures have transformed many aspects of everyday life, including familiar practices, as well as the concepts of private and public. The distinction between private/public is one of the basic social distinctions that underlies many others. The changes in this dichotomy reflect upon the very foundations of contemporary societies, and the COVID-19 pandemic is challenging the established ways of drawing this distinction.

On the one hand, we are witnessing the transformation of private as a result of changed conditions and the balance between work and leisure. A large number of people found themselves staying in their homes for a longer time than ever before, and were forced to use various forms of online communication which gave various outsiders access to their previously-closed home environment. As people turned their homes into workplaces for remote work—with the prospect of a significant part of workplaces continuing at home after the pandemic has ended—their understanding of private inevitably evolved. All of this affects the practices that people perform at home (such as eating routines, dressing habits, conversational activities, time structuring, or relationships with intimate partners and companion species), as well as their general sense of ‘privacy’.

On the other hand, there were changes in the practices of public behavior, some of which were imposed by medical and other governmental agencies (the wearing of mask, the use of gloves, and the so-called ‘social distancing’), but people also invented their own ways of protecting themselves and others from COVID-19. All of these measures have to be interpreted and applied in ordinary public places where participants have to decide, for example, whether the distance between them is ‘wide enough’, or if bringing their mask down to their chin is the most appropriate choice for the setting around them. As a result, the notion of ‘public’ with its ideas of ‘dangerous’ and ‘safe’ has significantly changed. It has introduced new ways of perceiving ourselves and others in public situations in our everyday lives, and has given us new reasons for the mutual moral assessment.

 RSR CFP 2021

Deadline for abstract submission is June 15, 2021 JULY 1, 2021.

Contributions should be sent via e-mail to the editor-in-chief Professor Alexander Filippov (afilippov@hse.ru) and Dr Nail Farkhatdinov (sociologica@hse.ru).