With most of us being told to remain indoors, many Canadians are using small acts of “neighbouring” to create other ways of connecting. What do these small interactions offer us? Will initiatives like “care-mongering” groups and pen pal campaigns continue after the pandemic is over?

The University of Guelph has an expert who can offer comment.

Prof. Mervyn Horgan is a social theorist, urbanist and cultural sociologist in U of G’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

He studies solidarity in places where strangers mingle and how people, places or activities become stigmatized.

He recently spoke with the Toronto Star about how Canadians are recognizing their dependence on each other, showing it through “millions of tiny acts of solidarity.” He said small interactions between strangers in public spaces have become one of the key ways many of us are expressing solidarity in these tense times.

He is available for interviews.

 

Contact:

Prof. Mervyn Horgan
mhorgan@uoguelph.ca