Paper short abstract:

Focus in on how Coronavirus resulted in new routines in spring 2020 in Finland. In the paper I investigate how everyday routines such as going to the grocery store, taking the bus or washing hands became re-organized and charged with new cultural meaning.

Paper long abstract:

In the spring of 2020, the novel Coronavirus was about to change everyday life. On March 12, the government in Finland recommended that people should work from home. Activities considered non-essential was restricted in order to reduce the spread of the virus. On March 16, a state of emergency was declared. The normal rhythm and order of everyday life became unpredictable and chaotic, empty shelves in grocery stores became headline news. At the same time new routines emerged.

The aim of this paper is to investigate how the virus resulted in new practices, and routines that to some extent re-established a sense of cultural and existential order. In the paper I investigate how routines such as going to the grocery store, taking the bus or washing hands became re-organized and charged with new cultural meaning; the virus resulted in intense attention to bodily practices and thus self-regulation.

The paper is based on a questionnaire focusing on how Corona affected everyday life in Finland. The questionnaire was published on March 12 and some 350 answers were received in just under a week. The paper is based on an article in Swedish published in Tidsskrift for Kulturforskning 2021/1 together with Fredrik Nilsson.