1. Central Park Karen: Pegged to the increasing popularity of the insult “Karen” – most recently used to describe the white woman in Central Park who called the police on an African-American bird watcher – we’re looking for a sociolinguist to write an article that goes into some of the history of using common names as pejoratives. How does one name come to represent an entire “type”? Why does it resonate with people? What sort of power can it wield, and what sort of pitfalls can occur?
Contact: Nick Lehr, nick.lehr@theconversation.com
Timeline: Contact editor by Friday, May 29
2. Singing, worship and coronavirus: As churches in the U.S. look to reopen, we are looking for a scholar to write a piece on the role of music in group worship. What does singing bring to the church experience, and what have congregations been doing in the absence of being able to meet and sing together in person?
Contact: Matt Williams, matt.williams@theconversation.com
Timeline: Contact editor by end of Friday, May 29
3. India, caste and coronavirus: As India battles to contain the spread of coronavirus, we are looking for an academic to write a piece on the role caste has played in the pandemic. Have lower caste members been disproportionately affected? Have fears over the disease’s spread worsened the plight of “untouchable” Dalits?
Contact: Matt Williams, matt.williams@theconversation.com
Timeline: Contact editor by end of Friday, May 29
4. Workplace coronavirus tracking: As states reopen, organizations are grappling with how to have workers return safely to the workplace. One approach is to require workers to use apps or wearable devices that allow employers to monitor workers’ social distancing. How do these technologies work? Are they effective at making workplaces safer? What are the implications for privacy and morale? And how different are these technologies from existing workplace monitoring?
Contact: Eric Smalley, eric.smalley@conversation.com
Timeline: Contact editor by Friday, May 29
5. If young kids are resistant to SARS-CoV-2, could we send them back to school?: Research seems to show that children are much more resistant to SARS-CoV-2 than adults. We are looking for an expert in pediatric immune system function or pediatric epidemiology to do a sort of lit review and explore why this might be and what it might mean for their role in transmission. Could children safely return to school as this paper suggests?
Contact: Daniel Merino, daniel.merino@theconversation.com
Timeline: Contact editor by Friday, May 29
6. How does coronavirus actually cause a loss of smell and or taste?: Loss of smell/taste are symptoms of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. But how, exactly, does a virus interfere with these senses? I’m looking for a 400-800-word story explaining how the virus does this.
Contact: Bijal Trivedi, bijal.trivedi@theconversation.com
Timeline: Contact editor by Friday, May 29. Deadline three days after commissioning
