Regulated Pandemic Spaces: Spatial Crises in COVID Comics.

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Urban Studies
• Media Studies

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered social, economic, and cultural landscapes globally.
• Understanding the spatial implications of these transformations is crucial for navigating the post-pandemic world.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the networked spatial crises emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To analyze how graphic medical texts represent and contest these spatial transformations.
• To explore the complex interplay between the pandemic, space, and societal changes.

Main Methods:

• Close-reading of sequential comics and graphic medical texts, including works by He Zhu, Rivi Handler-Spitz, Yang Ji, and Thi Bui et al.
• Analysis of visual narratives to understand lived experiences and perceptions of spatial crises.
• Application of theoretical frameworks from scholars like Michael Foucault and Henri Lefebvre.

Main Results:

• Identification of key spatial crises: disrupted urban environments, altered social dynamics, spaces of contamination, spatial contraction, and reconfigured workspaces.
• Demonstration of how these spatial transformations are represented, experienced, and contested in graphic narratives.
• Nuanced exploration of the intricate relationships between space, society, and pandemic effects.

Conclusions:

• Graphic medical texts offer valuable insights into the spatial dimensions of the COVID-19 crisis.
• The pandemic has led to profound and contested reconfigurations of physical and social spaces.
• This research contributes to understanding the challenges and complexities of our evolving spatial realities.