WINNIPEG -- Students at the University of Manitoba will have the chance to learn more about COVID-19 through a course set to be offered at the university this fall.

The course, called ‘Anthropology Now: COVID-19,’ will be offered as an anthropology elective.

It will examine how vocabulary, habits, institutions, communications and cultures have all been changed by people’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think what we can learn is that, regardless if someone agrees with someone else’s experiences, they are experiencing it and they will react in our world as a result of that,” said Lara Rosenoff Gauvin, an assistant professor at the U of M.

“And to me it’s very important if you could find empathy to it, but at least try to understand people’s diverse experiences so that we can move forward together afterwards.”

Some of the topics that will be covered in the course include: historical pandemics, country-specific responses, social media and the media’s role, political-economic impacts, arts and culture, protests and transformations.

More information on the course can be found on the Department of Anthropology’s website