Public COVID-19 pandemic discourses
A focus on vector populations (COVIDisc)
At a glance
- Co-project leader : Prof. Dr. Julia Dratva, Dr. Philipp Dreesen, Prof. Dr. Peter Stücheli-Herlach, Prof. Dr. Suzanne Suggs
- Project team : Matthias Fluor, Sibylle Juvalta, Dr. Julia Krasselt, Dominik Robin, Klaus Rothenhäusler, Camilla Speranza
- Project budget : CHF 193'400
- Project status : ongoing
- Funding partner : SNSF (SNF-Projekt / Projekt Nr. 196328)
- Project partner : University of Trieste / Department of Legal, Language, Interpreting and Translation Studies
- Contact person : Philipp Dreesen
Description
The containment of the COVID19 pandemic relies heavily on the
communication between public health organizations and individual
social groups. Therefore, public discourses and discursive
practices of specific audiences play a crucial role in the policy
implementation during a pandemic. Through discourse analysis and
qualitative interviews, the project will provide a deeper
understanding of temporality and dynamics of pandemic discourses
and the impact of local and regional dynamics of the pandemic on
public discourses.
The project combines the analysis of mediatized and organizational
discourses on the one hand with qualitative interviews conducted
with representatives of the group of 15-34 year-olds in German and
Italian-speaking Switzerland (“vector population”) on the other
hand. This age group is highly mobile and socially active. They are
less affected by the virus in terms of their health and society
demands solidary behavior. It is therefore particularly important
to reach this group through communication in order to contain the
pandemic. It must be taken into account that communication
appropriate to the target group always takes place within the
many-voiced discourse of actors in politics, administration and
business.
The aim of the project is to gain an understanding of the public
discourse and its perception by young people in Switzerland and,
based on this, to formulate communication recommendations for
public health organizations. In addition, a strategy for crisis
communication as well as audience and message design will be
developed for the current COVID 19 pandemic and for future public
health measures.
Further information
Publications
-
Dreesen, Philipp; Pohl, Peter C.,
2020.
Chronifizierung der Krise : ein, zugegeben gedrängter, Versuch zum Zeitlichkeitsdiskurs von Corona.
Aptum.
16(2/3),
pp.274-280.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-20407