Miasmatists: Data Science, Epidemics and Public Health
Year Awarded
2020
Amount
€45,700
- Organisation:University College Dublin (UCD)
- Audience:Transition Year Students, Third Level, General Public, Policy Makers
- Location:Dublin, national
- Topic:Science
Project Summary
The Miasmatists” is an interdisciplinary project that uses drama and debate to provide a historical and contemporary perspective on the scientific conflict surrounding cholera in the 1850s. The project’s key outputs will be a play and a programme of workshops, discursive events and digital activities that explore the parallels between then and now.
The scientific, medical and political communities lived through a moment in the 1850s very like our present moment: battling a terrible contagion amidst a lack of information and consensus. By returning to this moment through drama and public engagement, we seek to gain a deeper understanding of the key issues raised by the Covid-19 experience, particularly for audiences that are at risk of being left out of this discussion.
Partnering with a series of organisations in/near Dublin’s inner city that do not traditionally host theatre (Larkin Community College, Richmond Barracks and Mountjoy Prison), and leveraging our links with a variety of cultural institutions, we will target audiences that are not typically involved in the STEM sector. We will facilitate a unique dialogue between scientists, clinicians, the general public and key target groups to perpetuate the STEM-related impact of our artistic work.
Based on the track record and capability of the applicants we believe that, once launched, we will be able to bring the project to another level via theatre touring, digital dissemination and broadcast media. We intend to stimulate widespread reflection and debate on societal and scientific issues that could hardly be more topical at this time.