Pandemic Dialogues

In this episode, we conclude the discussion of Albert Camus' novel, The Plague. We are joined by a listener who goes by the handle @barttels2 on Twitter. We discuss reading the novel as a medical play as well as a moral one, and how Camus offers us a way to be optimistic without hope. This episode was recorded before our summer hiatus in June of 2020.

In this episode of Pandemic Dialogues, Trevor Shelley continues the conversation of Albert Camus's novel, The Plague. The catalyst for this project was the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. In this conversation, Trevor and his colleagues, Eric Schmidt and Drew Thompson, discuss reading The Plague during the early weeks of our own plague and what Camus' insights can teach us about politics and civic discourse.”

In the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Trevor Shelley and Luke Perez of Arizona State University continue their discussion of Albert Camus's award-winning novel, The Plague. After a short summer break, Trevor and Luke return and discuss the work as a whole. In this episode, Luke brings on a guest, Garnet Kindervater of Fordham. Luke and Garnet discuss reading Camus's novel as an allegory for political disease and political catastrophe.

In the wake of the covid-19 global pandemic, Luke Perez and Trevor Shelley conclude their discussion of Albert Camus' Nobel Prize novel, The Plague. In this episode, they discuss the juxtaposition of jubilee that the plague has ended and reopening of the city, with the heartbreak of a few more lost loved ones. The thesis from last episode, that Rieux is not the hero we should emulate is expanded upon, and Cottard is posited as a mirror of the late-Father Paneloux. Finally, the narrator is revealed.

In the wake of the covid-19 crisis, Trevor Shelley and Luke Perez of Arizona State University discuss Albert Camus' Nobel Prize novel, The Plague. In this episode we discuss Part 4 of the novel: the characters confront the problem of evil as they watch the death of someone close to their community. Father Paneloux and Rieux discuss God’s providence in relationship to the problem of Evil. Meanwhile, Tarrou makes a friend and provides a confession, of a sort, about his past. And in the midst of all this, the rats are back.Books Mentioned in this episode • C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain• Saint Augustine, City of God• Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

In light of the covid-19 pandemic, Trevor Shelley and Luke Perez of Arizona State University discuss Albert Camus's novel, The Plague. In this episode Luke and Trevor examine the short middle, third part of The Plague, at which point the summer heat and the death toll reaches its climax. They discuss the significance of the style of this terse section, questions on the Oranian decisions of confusing honors in awarding metals, the descent into martial law and a disrespect for law, and the dishonorable treatment of the dead. Finally, they consider the overarching theme of whether freedom—and free will—remain possible under what the narrator refers to as "the despotic rule of the plague," and thus how important conscience may continue to be even for non-religious believers.

In the wake of the covid-19 global pandemic, Luke Perez and Trevor Shelley of Arizona State University discuss Albert Camus' novel, The Plague. In this episode, they continue their discussion of Part II. Issues of civic education, morality, and habits are discussed. Trevor and Luke identify three models of morality that Camus uses to explore the virtues and vices of the main characters.

In response to the global pandemic of covid-19, Trevor Shelley and Luke Perez of Arizona State University embark on a reading of Albert Camus' novel, "The Plague," which tells the story of a fictional outbreak of bubonic plague in the North African city of Oran. In this episode, they discuss the first half of Part II, wherein old characters are re-introduced, and the residents of the town come to grips with the initial aftermath of plague. Residents respond to the lockdown of the city, and questions arise as to whether or not and what extent Oran is a genuine community, and if not, whether facing a common threat will help shape it into one. A prominent priest delivers a homily, and the narrator considers whether it had the intended effect.

In response to the global pandemic of Covid-19, many people have turned to literature as a source of inspiration and reflection on pandemics and political life. In this new podcast, Trevor Shelly and Luke Perez of the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University discuss Albert Camus' novel, The Plague, which fictionalizes an outbreak of bubonic plague in the North African town of Oran. In this episode, Trevor and Luke discuss Part 1 of the novel. Key characters and themes are introduced as the town is besieged, first by dead rats all over the city, and subsequently by the realization that after centuries, the plague has returned.

In response to the global pandemic of COVID-19, Arizona State University professors Trevor Shelley and Luke Perez begin a multi-part discussion of Albert Camus' Nobel Prize winning novel "The Plague." Written in the 1940s, Camus viewed medical disease as an analogue for understanding the decline of political order. Trevor and Luke discuss the ways in which the COVID-19 has led many people to look to literature as a way to understand how the fabric of our social world is woven.