Youth and the pandemic from an anthropological perspective

On March 30, the Permanent Chair of Anthropology organized a talk entitled: "Youth and Pandemic, an anthropological perspective", given by Mauro Cerbino, specialist in Cultural Anthropology and doctor in Urban Anthropology.

The event took place on the Zoom platform and began with the welcome given by Professor Gabriela Eljuri. This was followed by the intervention of the exhibitor, who began by expressing his dissatisfaction with digital interactions and emphasizing: "I am a local person, I need the presence and warmth of people."

From this statement the doctor's analysis started about how the pandemic caused by Covid-19 has been told. On the one hand, with the fact that it has been built from scientific discourse, concentrating on responses from the medical field. What has limited the analysis of the phenomenon from other perspectives, such as the cultural one.

This resulted in the belief that everyone will be able to resolve the crisis in the same way, when this is not possible because everyone experiences different realities.

From these points arose the reasoning about the consequences that are occurring and that will occur in young people due to the pandemic. For example, at work, with labor exploitation, where the lack of opportunities is an open door for the violation of rights.

Or education, since not everyone has been able to join the virtual modality and have chosen to stop studying. Which could cause a setback, because as Cervino emphasizes, drawing inspiration from social Darwinism: "Only the fittest will be able to adapt to the new situation."

Cervino also stressed that young people have been represented as a social problem, pointing out that they are contagious, which in his opinion is "degrading".

In addition to the fact that no one has given creative solutions to these situations, which is linked to the main idea of ​​the doctor that points out that only general solutions have been thought, incapable of solving individual scenarios.

So in the end Cervino stressed that other studies are necessary - apart from those of the medical field - to analyze the phenomena that have arisen from the pandemic, for example, cultural research:

"The development of symbolic capacities to face anguish and to avoid the conflict that would lead us to annihilate each other", concluded the speaker.

UDA Correspondent