SCIENCE is the beacon of light in our journey to emerging from the coronavirus pandemic. It informs decision making and, of course, is responsible for the vaccine programme which is intrinsic to our road to normality.
But we can’t forget the human aspect of our recovery too.
Our culture has changed considerably over the course of the last year. We have seen communities unite, while being forced to remain apart physically. We have relinquished our freedoms for the love of our elderly relatives or vulnerable strangers. While the virus has caused immeasurable grief for those that have lost loved ones, it has taken its toll on others through isolation, job loss, or poor mental health.
When we do emerge from this pandemic, the world will be a different place, but we have the opportunity to build a more inclusive, kinder society. While scientists and medical professionals are central to physical recovery, it is those who specialise in the arts and humanities who will support and help us understand new cultural, societal and behavioural norms.
For example, we can learn lessons from our social history, as the world has faced pandemics before. Similarities are being drawn between our current reality and that of the roaring 20s, which followed in the wake of the Spanish influenza outbreak in 1918.
But the joy was short lived, as overspending and over-borrowing to make up for lost time contributed to the Great Depression. Historians can draw parallels between these occurrences and our present-day realities, and the more we identify and understand these patterns, the better our chances of realising the risks and opportunities of our situation and how best to proceed.
At a political level, those who have an arts and humanities background are creative problem solvers, critical thinkers, and are imaginative when it comes to finding solutions. Their work is often based around communities, and so they have a thorough understanding of ethics and collaboration. All of these aspects are vital components in good decision making and can be applied to coronavirus and beyond.
An understanding of ‘SHAPE’ (Social sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy) subjects is important at all life stages and has an important role to play in the development of our society and economy. And while STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) has become a household term, more needs to be done to recognise the value that the arts and humanities also bring to our lives and understanding of the world.
We need collaboration between higher education institutes, policy makers, cultural partners, creative industries and the public to make this a reality. The Scottish Arts and Humanities Alliance (SAHA) has been created to lead this charge, and bring these disparate parties together, and to be a voice which can articulate a human-centred response to the challenges we face.
There is a real opportunity for us to embrace SHAPE as we focus on recovering from the pandemic. Just as science is our vehicle on the road to recovery, the arts and humanities will be building blocks of a new, inclusive, collaborative society.
Dr Rebekah Widdowfield is the chief executive of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and joint Chair of the Scottish Arts and Humanities Alliance
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