Proud to Publish: Sociological Reflections on the Covid-19 Pandemic in India

In our Proud to Publish series we talk to our book editors about the books they were most proud to publish, commission or work on, in the past year. For this blog post we interviewed Senior Editor for Humanities books, Satvinder Kaur, who is based in New Delhi, India.

What book are you proud to have commissioned in 2020 and why?

I discussed the need for "Sociological Reflections on the Covid-19 Pandemic in India" to present a sociological approach to the Covid-19 pandemic with Springer’s regular author, Professor Mala Kapur Shankardass. Professor Shankardass ardently accepted the idea and decided to loop in a few more scholars to edit the book.

What was the idea behind this book?

The Covid-19 pandemic has upended all the schedules and has impacted every segment of life. While the impact of the pandemic varies from country to country, this forthcoming book provides insights into its impact on the individual, family, economy, and the state and the relationships not only between them but also within them. It draws attention to the concerns of the vulnerable sections of the population – the aged, children, women, the LGBTQ community, migrant labor, and the economically backward classes. We get to read the impacts of Covid-19 almost every day in newspapers and I was convinced that this book will make an important contribution to the area of Sociology of Crisis and Disaster. This overarching publication will appeal to a wide readership across the social sciences and humanities.

What makes this book stand out in its field?

This book discusses the societal aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic. It engages with the changing circumstances of how individuals, families, communities, institutions and society at large got affected and tried to build strategies for coping. It covers interesting topics such as gender roles, dynamism and fluidity in media and advertisements, health care systems, limitations of online education, etc. The sociological perspective from various authors on the much-debated issue of the pandemic and its consequences for a normal life makes the book unique in the field.

Click here for more information about this and other titles in our Social Sciences collection. To add this title to your library contact us here.

If you are interested in publishing Social Sciences books with us, please contact Satvinder Kaur.

 

About the author

Dr. Mala Kapur Shankardass, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Maitreyi College, University of Delhi (South Campus), New Delhi. A trained sociologist, health social scientist and gerontologist she consults with United Nations agencies and other international and national organizations in India and abroad on ageing, gender, health, and development issues. She holds the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) Chair for Asia and is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Adult Protection and the Polish Social Gerontology Journal. She was one of the experts involved in the formulation of the National Policy for Older Persons in India in 1998–99 and was nominated as a member of the State Council for Older Persons constituted by the Delhi State Government in 2010–2011. She has been a member of the Core Group on Protection and Welfare of the Elderly Persons, founded by the National Human Rights Commission, since 2010.

Dr Shankardass has published numerous articles in respected journals, magazines, newspapers and books in India and abroad. Her books include Growing Old in India: Voices Reveal and Statistics Speak (2004); and Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly in India (co-edited, Springer). She takes part in media discussions on socially relevant topics for prime television and radio channels, and is a life member of the Indian Sociological Society, Indian Association of Gerontology, and Indian Association of Social Science and Health.