COVID-19 and the Fate of Seafarers: Lecture during Science Night in Halle

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally shook our lives and its global consequences are still being felt today. There is much that has not yet been fully investigated. A lecture by Luisa Piart as part of Science Night in Halle on 4 July will explore one such overlooked story. In addition to children, the sick and elderly, and people living in precarity, there is another group that was particularly affected by the global lockdown – seafarers on international shipping vessels. Piart will present her research on their fates at 18:00 in the Melanchthonianum on the university square. The topic is also the subject of a current exhibition in the Stadtmuseum Halle. Piart will provide a guided tour on Friday, 4 July starting at 21:00.

Lecture in German by Luisa Piart: Still Stehen: Seeleute und Seeblindheit während der COVID-19-Pandemie 
Friday, 4 July, 18:00–19:00, Melanchthonianum am Uniplatz, Lecture Hall A

After the outbreak of the pandemic five years ago, most of the world seemed to come to a standstill. And yet some people remained in motion – seafarers on international shipping vessels, who insured that global trade remained intact but were themselves often not allowed to set foot on land for months at a time. Drawing on anthropological research among these seafarers, the lecture illuminates the unprecedented humanitarian crisis that they experienced while stuck on their ships as a result of the closing of borders and worldwide restrictions on air traffic. At the same time, they transported vital goods that were essential for surviving and fighting the pandemic. Complementing the lecture, material from the research project is on display in the exhibition “Still Stehen: Seeleute und Geflüchtete in der Pandemie” (Standing still: Seafarers and Refugees during the Pandemic) in the Stadtmuseum Halle until 6 July. Afterwards the exhibition will travel to Bremerhaven, where it will be on display at the German Maritime Museum from 7 August.

Guided tour by Luisa Piart: closing event of the exhibition “Still stehen”
Friday, 4 July, 21:00–21:30, Stadtmuseum Halle, Große Märkerstraße 10