Medep

23/09/2025

You can read the Media and Epidemics Chanse - Collaboration of Humanities and Social Sciences in Europe ‘Story of Change’ which reflects some of the work from our project on narrative vulnerability during the pandemic as a result of a collaboration with Romanian non-profit organisation Fragile Society. See this and some of our other project achievements here: https://chanse.org/medep/

18/09/2025

We have an insightful new blog post from Dmytro Yesypenko Kule Folklore Centre about the role of folklore and epidemics in nineteenth-century literature :

“…epidemics are never only about pathogens. They are also filtered through the words of newspapers, proclamations, and popular accounts — words that, like folk tales, provided framework…

16/09/2025

Today’s fascinating Media and Epidemics research seminar was presented by Irina Nastasa-Matei (Principal Investigator of the Romanian team) about the portrayal of the Polidin vaccine in Romanian media. Polidin was first marketed as a specialist cure for influenza and later as a panacea for a range of illnesses. Gendered media representations depicted women scientists in photographs as industrious innovators, yet their names remained invisible in texts, whereas male scientists were named and celebrated in texts marketing the vaccine. We look forward to reading the published version of Irina’s important research soon!

13/09/2025

Don't miss our next MEDEP research seminar on Tuesday, September 16, on Zoom! Irina Nastasa-Matei, Principal Investigator of the Romanian team, will discuss the public management of influenza epidemics and the reorganization of Romania's healthcare system, medical infrastructure, and pharmaceutical industry during the communist era, using the Polidin vaccine as a case study.

11/09/2025

The Media and Epidemics team and Dr Emily Vincent really enjoyed presenting at the Chanse - Collaboration of Humanities and Social Sciences in Europe conference, meeting humanities and social sciences researchers from across Europe to see how digital culture has (and continues to) transform over time

08/09/2025

Our project was represented by Dr Emily Vincent who focused on the necessary diversity of our sources (from historic newspapers, to postage stamps) for examining the range of lived experiences and how our research of the past can prepare us for pandemic futures

08/09/2025

The Media and Epidemics (MEDEP) team have heard a great keynote about the necessity of the humanities and social sciences in the digital age for combating disinformation and ethical concerns across Europe and on a global scale Chanse - Collaboration of Humanities and Social Sciences in Europe

08/09/2025

The Media and Epidemics (MEDEP) team have arrived in Kraków for the Chanse - Collaboration of Humanities and Social Sciences in Europe conference. We’re looking forward to sharing our findings and meeting the rest of the CHANSE projects!

05/09/2025

The Media and Epidemics team are excited to present an overview of our research activities (from archival research to creative writing workshops) & key outputs (books, journal articles, an international conference & more) at the Chanse - Collaboration of Humanities and Social Sciences in Europe Final Conference in Kraków on Monday! 🇵🇱

01/09/2025

Our research into historical and literature has just been published on the medical humanities platform The Polyphony! You can find it here: https://thepolyphony.org/2025/09/01/media-and-epidemics/

Members of the Media and Epidemics Research Network provide three vignettes illustrating the different ways ‘Russian Flu’ was reflected in media and literary culture.