Preface: Research and Teaching in a Pandemic World

Research and Teaching in a Pandemic World explores how the academic identities of students and staff were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter outlines the main motivation for writing this book and provides a brief overview of the chapters that follow. This book was initiated to allow the chapter authors to narrate their emotional journeys during a time of significant upheaval. We believe that stories matter; individual experiences matter. The stories in this book are of trauma, grief, and loss, but also highlight moments of resilience and growth. As the editors, we encourage the reader to explore these stories with us. In this book, you will discover stories which either resonate with, or differ significantly from, your own experience. As you read these stories, then, we encourage you to reflect on your own journey during the COVID-19 pandemic—you may be surprised at the response this reflection evokes. In this way, we can all bear collective witness to the often-times idiosyncratic ways in which the pandemic has affected us all. It is only through this collective witnessing that we can learn to move forward into a post-pandemic society.