Sociological research on the Covid-19 pandemic

An introduction

Abstract

A pandemic is a crisis and as such, in many ways, an entirely new situation. It is a situation in which there are scientific as well as societal uncertainties and where the routines of everyday life are overturned. The Covid-19 pandemic has made visible already established social structures and inequalities, but it has also exacerbated existing power relations and vulnerabilities. In this article, we introduce the contributions to the special issue of Sociologisk Forskning on how society and people’s lives have been affected by the corona crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. We also give an overview of some of the themes that are picked up by sociologists and social scientists internationally as well as nationally in Sweden, when trying to make sense of the meaning and effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.