COVID-19 Cross-Disciplinary Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis that has unleashed a vast amount of changes in all aspects of policy, and disrupted industries, organizations, and individuals in previously unimaginable ways. Leaders are tasked with making complex decisions, and societal inequities have intensified differential consequences for individuals and groups around the world. Navigating through implications of a global challenge of this scope is best suited to interdisciplinary perspectives, approaches, and actions. In this online course, students will analyze the current situation from multiple perspectives, engage with others across disciplines, and have the opportunity to mobilize their disciplinary knowledge and skills to address this particular global challenge. MIIS faculty and students can play a pivotal role in addressing these issues through praxis, moving from theory to reflection + action. In this course, students will engage with experts from multiple disciplines to examine how COVID-19 has impacted the economy, environment, education, public health, and much more. Students will critically evaluate the roles that complexity, systemic interactions, and individual perceptions and understandings play in shaping local, regional, and global responses to the pandemic across disciplines with an eye towards social justice and change. The course will provide students with tools to engage with a range of diverse audiences, to address complex problems, and to communicate their findings professionally as preparation for their future careers in a changing world.