“ALMOST NOTHING HAS CHANGED”: ORDINARY ETHICS AND FORMS OF LIFE IN PANDEMIC TIMES

In this article, we reflect on the daily life of a white middle-class family living in southern Brazil during the Covid-19 pandemic. Approaching care as a practical activity sensitive to the details of everyday life, we emphasize the relevance of the notion of ordinary ethics developed by Veena Das. Through the narratives of members of this family, it is possible to see the invisible and invisiblized work necessary to maintain ordinary life and the weaving together of the ordinary and the extraordinary revealed in the relationship of three generations in the same house. Finally, we argue for the fundamental connection between ordinary ethics and forms of life, highlighting how the domestic space is not only a crucial structure of care in the Brazilian scenario of social and political vulnerability, but is also an active element in which forms of life take form and come to life.

Keywords
Care; ordinary ethics; forms of life; covid-19 pandemic; the elderly

Authorship

Ceres Víctora
Ceres Víctora is Full Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the the Graduate Program in Social Anthropology at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and coordinator of the Núcleo de Pesquisas em Antropologia do Corpo e da Saúde (Nupacs). She holds an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences, a master’s degree in Social Anthropology at UFRGS, a doctorate in Anthropology from Brunel University and post-doctoral studies at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University. She is part of the Rede Covid-19 Humanidades MCTI. She has experience in the area of health anthropology, working mainly on the following themes: body, gender, health, emotions, social suffering and research ethics. Her most recent publications are: "Os sentimentos na agenda da Antropologia" and, in collaboration, “A Covid 19 e suas múltiplas pandemias” and “Cuidado e controle na gestão da velhice em tempos de Covid-19”.

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Departamento de Antropologia, Porto Alegre, RS, BrasilUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)BrasilPorto Alegre, RS, BrasilUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Departamento de Antropologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9363-3883

Patrice Schuch
Patrice Schuch is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Graduate Program in Social Anthropology at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She holds an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences, a master's degree and a doctorate in Social Anthropology at UFRGS. She is a member of the Rede Covid-19 Humanidades MCTI. Her areas of interest include the study of the relationship between human rights, technologies of government, moralities and subjectivities, having done research in the field of childhood and youth, street population, disability, and aging. She has published “Práticas de justiça: antropologia dos modos de governo da infância e juventude pós ECA” and, in collaboration, “A Covid 19 e suas múltiplas pandemias” and “Cuidado e controle na gestão da velhice em tempos de Covid-19”.

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0073-3496

Monalisa Dias de Siqueira
Monalisa Dias de Siqueira is a post-doctoral researcher in the Graduate Program in Social Anthropology at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and Professor in the Department of Collective Health and in the Graduate Program in Social Sciences at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM). Santa Maria (UFSM). She is a member of the Rede Covid-19 Humanidades MCTI. She has research experience on the following themes: aging, body, health, gender and emotions.: aging, body, health, gender and emotions. She published in collaboration “O corpo no espaço público: emoções e processos reivindicatórios no contexto da ‘Tragédia de Santa Maria’”, “Cuidado e controle na gestão da velhice em tempos de Covid-19” and “Na sequência da tragédia: sofrimento e a vida após o incêndio da Boate Kiss”.

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Programa de Pós-graduação em Antropologia Social, Porto Alegre, RS, BrasilUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)BrasilPorto Alegre, RS, BrasilUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Programa de Pós-graduação em Antropologia Social, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5063-8411

Ceres Víctora is Full Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the the Graduate Program in Social Anthropology at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and coordinator of the Núcleo de Pesquisas em Antropologia do Corpo e da Saúde (Nupacs). She holds an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences, a master’s degree in Social Anthropology at UFRGS, a doctorate in Anthropology from Brunel University and post-doctoral studies at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University. She is part of the Rede Covid-19 Humanidades MCTI. She has experience in the area of health anthropology, working mainly on the following themes: body, gender, health, emotions, social suffering and research ethics. Her most recent publications are: "Os sentimentos na agenda da Antropologia" and, in collaboration, “A Covid 19 e suas múltiplas pandemias” and “Cuidado e controle na gestão da velhice em tempos de Covid-19”.

Patrice Schuch is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Graduate Program in Social Anthropology at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She holds an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences, a master's degree and a doctorate in Social Anthropology at UFRGS. She is a member of the Rede Covid-19 Humanidades MCTI. Her areas of interest include the study of the relationship between human rights, technologies of government, moralities and subjectivities, having done research in the field of childhood and youth, street population, disability, and aging. She has published “Práticas de justiça: antropologia dos modos de governo da infância e juventude pós ECA” and, in collaboration, “A Covid 19 e suas múltiplas pandemias” and “Cuidado e controle na gestão da velhice em tempos de Covid-19”.

Monalisa Dias de Siqueira is a post-doctoral researcher in the Graduate Program in Social Anthropology at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and Professor in the Department of Collective Health and in the Graduate Program in Social Sciences at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM). Santa Maria (UFSM). She is a member of the Rede Covid-19 Humanidades MCTI. She has research experience on the following themes: aging, body, health, gender and emotions.: aging, body, health, gender and emotions. She published in collaboration “O corpo no espaço público: emoções e processos reivindicatórios no contexto da ‘Tragédia de Santa Maria’”, “Cuidado e controle na gestão da velhice em tempos de Covid-19” and “Na sequência da tragédia: sofrimento e a vida após o incêndio da Boate Kiss”.

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“ALMOST NOTHING HAS CHANGED”: ORDINARY ETHICS AND FORMS OF LIFE IN PANDEMIC TIMES

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[1] Ceres Víctora is Full Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the the Graduate Program in Social Anthropology at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and coordinator of the Núcleo de Pesquisas em Antropologia do Corpo e da Saúde (Nupacs). She holds an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences, a master’s degree in Social Anthropology at UFRGS, a doctorate in Anthropology from Brunel University and post-doctoral studies at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University. She is part of the Rede Covid-19 Humanidades MCTI. She has experience in the area of health anthropology, working mainly on the following themes: body, gender, health, emotions, social suffering and research ethics. Her most recent publications are: "Os sentimentos na agenda da Antropologia" and, in collaboration, “A Covid 19 e suas múltiplas pandemias” and “Cuidado e controle na gestão da velhice em tempos de Covid-19”.