Online portal consolidates ‘social’ knowledge about coronavirus
Understandably, coronavirus is often viewed from a medical perspective. However, researchers in the social sciences and humanities possess a great deal of expertise that could improve our understanding of the virus outbreak and its impact on society. A new portal is consolidating this knowledge.
The new website is the initiative of SSH-beraad, a consultation body that aims to improve the position of the social sciences and humanities in the Netherlands. This means disciplines ranging from psychology to law and from economics to history.
The aim of the COVID-19 portal is to make expertise from these disciplines available on a publicly available national platform. The portal provides direct access to academic experts who possess knowledge that will help us understand the corona crisis. This would be of use to journalists, for instance, who are seeking an expert to consult.
Numerous Leiden experts can be found on the portal. Carsten de Dreu can the psychology behind stockpiling, Claire Weeda can talk about quarantine measures in previous times (in Dutch) and Wimar Bolhuis can explain the government’s support package.