The Covid-19 Pandemic as a world-historical event
Schedule
Thu, 02 Jul, 2026 at 09:00 am to Fri, 03 Jul, 2026 at 05:00 pm
UTC+01:00Location
The British Academy | London, EN
About this Event
bring together scholars and specialists from around the world to explore themes related to health and wellbeing.
This conference shifts the focus on Covid-19 from a public health crisis to its status as a transformative historical event. Bringing together specialists from India, six African countries, Europe, and the United States, the conference provides a rare opportunity to develop a truly global and comprehensive understanding of the pandemic’s experiences and consequences. Speakers include medical practitioners working in community-based medicine in India, alongside experts in medicine and global health, economic modelling, sociology and the media, biopolitics, the history of science and technology, and senior medical officials.
By examining both differences and commonalities between experiences in the Global North and the Global South, the conference fosters an interdisciplinary and collaborative global historical perspective. This collective approach offers insight into the profound social, economic, and human impacts of Covid-19 and illuminates the ways in which the pandemic represented a significant rupture in contemporary life.
Conference convenors
- Toby Green FBA, Kings College London
- Juliette Rouchier, Université Aix-Marseille
- Reginald Oduor, University of Nairobi
- T. Sundararaman, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER)
Speakers
- Ana Lucia Araujo, Howard University
- Caitjan Gainty, King’s College London
- Darez Ahmed, State National Health Programme, Tamil Nadu, former Mission Director
- David Musoke, Makerere School of Public Health
- El Hadji Diallo Bâ, Université Cheikh Anta Diop
- Garrett Wallace Brown, University of Leeds
- Ingrid Hoofd, Utrecht University
- KK Shailaja, Former Health Minister, Kerala State
- Laurent Muchielli, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
- Linda Gibson, Nottingham Trent University
- Muriel Blaive, University of Graz
- Olutayo Adesina, University of Ibadan / University of Manchester
- Polona Petek, University of Ljubljana
- Ruben Andersson, University of Oxford
- Samuel Adu-Gyamfi, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
- Wahome Ngare, Kenyan Obstetrics and Gynaecological Association
- Yogesh Jain, Jan Swasthya Sahyog
Ticket Prices (per day)
- In-person: £40 standard | £20 concession
- Online: £10 standard | £6 concession
For more information about the accessibility of the British Academy, please email [email protected], or consult our accessibility guide.
All attendees will be provided with lunch, and refreshments throughout the conference. There will be a drinks reception at the end of the first day.
Hybrid, booking required.
Image credit: Juliette Rouchier.
Where is it happening?
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 6.97 to GBP 43.18



















