21 September 2023 Seminar: Political Effects of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic

masv on 19. September 2023

For the fourth Pandemics & Society Seminar of our Fall 2023 series, we are pleased to welcome Professor Erik Hornung (University of Cologne). The seminar will be held on Thursday, 21 September at the normal time (1600 CEST). More information about our speaker and the presentation is below. You can sign up for email notifications about the seminar series, including the Zoom details, here.

Abstract (Working paper)

How do health crises affect election results? We combine a panel of election results from 1893–1933 with spatial heterogeneity in excess mortality due to the 1918 Influenza to assess the pandemic’s effect on voting behavior across German constituencies. Applying a dynamic differences-in-differences approach, we find that areas with higher influenza mortality saw a lasting shift towards left-wing parties. We argue that pandemic intensity increased the salience of public health policy, prompting voters to reward parties signaling competence in health issues. Alternative explanations such as pandemic-induced economic hardship, punishment of incumbents for inadequate policy responses, or polarization of the electorate towards more extremist parties are not supported by our findings.

About the Speaker

Erik Hornung is Professor of Economic History at the University of Cologne, a Research Fellow of the CESifo and CAGE, and a Research Affiliate of the CEPR. He is also Associate Editor of The Economic Journal and a member of the Editorial Boards of The Journal of Economic History and Explorations in Economic History. His research focuses on economic history and long-run development, particularly through analysis of historically important events that determine differences in development over time and space.

Serendipity & stamina in pandemic research

masv on 18. September 2023

Our Centre leader, Prof. Svenn-Erik Mamelund, held a talk at the Letten Seminar of 2023 at the Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo on September 7. You can now watch the recordings of his talk here.

14 September 2023 Seminar: Plague and Bronze Age Migrations

masv on 11. September 2023

For the third Pandemics & Society Seminar of our Fall 2023 series, we are pleased to welcome Rebecca Main (University of Stirling). The seminar will be held on Thursday, 14 September at the normal time (1600 CEST). More information about our speaker and the presentation is below. You can sign up for email notifications about the seminar series, including the Zoom details, here.

Abstract

As one of the oldest and deadliest diseases encountered by humans, plague, caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria, provides an excellent opportunity to advance our understanding of how infectious diseases emerge, persevere, and infect humans for centuries or millennia. The talk introduces the audience to the research project and presents a case study of plague dispersal in two distantly separated regions of the Eurasian steppe – the North Caucasus and Altai-Sayan – during the period of Early Bronze Age human migrations.

About the Speaker

Alongside her positions as Research Assistant and Programme Tutor, Rebecca Main is a doctoral researcher at the University of Stirling. Her research historicises non-textual, palaeoscientific data to determine the natural forces (climate and ecological change) and human activities (mobility and migration, trade, economy, and conflict) responsible for the emergence and spread of Yersinia pestis (plague) in Neolithic and Bronze Age Eurasia. Her research interests are in all-things ancient, delving into evolutionary genetics as well as prehistoric culture, disease, demography, diet, migration, and environmental change.

7 September 2023 Seminar: Historical endemic diseases and syndemic demographic effects

masv on 4. September 2023

For the second Pandemics & Society Seminar of our Fall 2023 series, our own Maria Bekker-Nielsen Dunbar (PANSOC) will discuss her MSCA Project Proposal on historical endemic diseases. The seminar will be held on Thursday, 7 September at the normal time (1600 CEST). More information about our speaker and the presentation is below. You can sign up for email notifications about the seminar series, including the Zoom details, here.

Abstract

Tuberculosis is a disease which has long affected humans and can be fatal if not treated. While incidence is low in Norway currently, some cases are found annually, and latent tuberculosis and anti-microbial resistant tuberculosis remain a public health concern today. Historical records gathered during the nineteenth century have not been examined and may provide insights into the use of isolation as a treatment option. I will construct models to analyse data from these records following lines of inquiry developed using the syndemics framework.

About the Speaker

Maria Bekker-Nielsen Dunbar is an an early career researcher in infectious disease modelling at the Centre for Research on Pandemics & Society at OsloMet. She has experience of applications of modelling approaches to problems in environmental epidemiology and infectious disease epidemiology. Her current research interest is endemic diseases and how different population groups are disproportionately at risk of and affected by them.

Evi Juuti has been visiting us in August

masv on 29. August 2023

Evi Juuti has been visiting PANSOC for two weeks in August.

Eevi Juuti is an architect, urban planner and a doctoral researcher at the University of Oulu specializing in the use of service design and design thinking in the context of built environment. She has also been working with topics concerning environmental health. Now she is working with RECIPE (Resistant Cities. Urban Planning as Means for Pandemic Prevention) project, which explores the relationship between built environments and pandemics.

Evi hold a talk at our webinar while here. You can read more about Evi and her projects here: First Fall 2023 Webinar: Built Environments and Pandemics – Centre for Research on Pandemics & Society (PANSOC) (oslomet.no) and also watch the recordings of her webinar talk here: Webinar Recording: Built Environments and Pandemics – Centre for Research on Pandemics & Society (PANSOC) (oslomet.no)