{"title":"What is It Like To Be a Bat in the Time of Covid-19, or How Many Pandemics Could We Have?","authors":"Goran Đurđević, Suzana Marjanić","doi":"10.3986/sms20212404","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"In these paired years (2020–2021), the whole world has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has resulted in the emergence of different presumptions, alternative facts, and fake news. Among those, the most dominant news was about bats as the culprits of expansion of the virus and, indirectly, the Chinese diet as the root cause. However, there is no proof that the links in the triangle of bat-virus-human are valid; and the source of infection has not been identified. In addition to bats, these viruses can be found in other animals, such as camels, pangolins, and humans. Therefore, individual scientists are reversing the situation by presenting the possibility of transmitting the virus from humans to animals. Nevertheless, it has become ultimately ‘acceptable’ to demonise the bat. In this respect, various authors remind us of certain historical contexts of notions and perceptions of the bats, as well as the similarities and differences of those perceptions during the pandemic, referring to it mainly in the context of Croatia and the world. In the end, the article’s conclusion is that the story about the bats is, actually, a great indicator of the representations of Otherness and the strengthening of a binary and hierarchical division of ‘us’ and ‘them’.","PeriodicalId":37944,"journal":{"name":"Studia Mythologica Slavica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2021-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Studia Mythologica Slavica","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3986/sms20212404","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Social Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In these paired years (2020–2021), the whole world has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has resulted in the emergence of different presumptions, alternative facts, and fake news. Among those, the most dominant news was about bats as the culprits of expansion of the virus and, indirectly, the Chinese diet as the root cause. However, there is no proof that the links in the triangle of bat-virus-human are valid; and the source of infection has not been identified. In addition to bats, these viruses can be found in other animals, such as camels, pangolins, and humans. Therefore, individual scientists are reversing the situation by presenting the possibility of transmitting the virus from humans to animals. Nevertheless, it has become ultimately ‘acceptable’ to demonise the bat. In this respect, various authors remind us of certain historical contexts of notions and perceptions of the bats, as well as the similarities and differences of those perceptions during the pandemic, referring to it mainly in the context of Croatia and the world. In the end, the article’s conclusion is that the story about the bats is, actually, a great indicator of the representations of Otherness and the strengthening of a binary and hierarchical division of ‘us’ and ‘them’.
期刊介绍:
Studia mythologica Slavica is international scientific journal on the mythology, spiritual culture and tradition of Slavic and also other nations and people. It is published by the Institute of Slovenian Ethnology of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and by the Dipartimento di Lingue e Letterature Straniere, Università degli Studi di Udine. The journal is dedicated to interdisciplinary studies, and one of the main aims of this journal is to present comparative research that defines and determines (i.e. establishes) Slavic culture in the context of the wider European and non-European world (cultures). The journal intends to throw light on the belief systems and religions of older Slavic, Eurasian, and other civilisations. Moreover, it encourages the research of contemporary phenomena in the field of spiritual, social and material culture, and their transformation. The character of the publication is both international and interdisciplinary, covering the themes from the field of ethnology, anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, religious studies, history of literature and philosophy. It also brings new interpretations of historical sources and presents new discoveries, material, and field research. The journal was first published in 1998, and since then it has been published once a year in a multi-language edition, in print and on the internet. Each year, it is distributed in exchange for hundred scientific publications from around the world. The articles are published in English, Italian, German and all Slavic languages. All articles have long summaries and an abstract in the English language.