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On February 12, 51��Ʒ��Ƶ’s and hosted an information session to answer the community’s questions about the novel coronavirus. The drew approximately 250 people, and it featured two 51��Ʒ��Ƶ scientists, two 51��Ʒ��Ƶ historians and an epidemiologist from the Allegheny County Health Department.

Two months later, the event’s moderator, Global Studies Center director and professor of political science brought two of the panelists together for a follow-up discussion.

In the , Goodhart spoke with Megan Freeman, a pediatric infectious diseases senior fellow in the School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, and , assistant professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences' Department of History. Goodhart, Freeman and Webel discussed the developments in the understanding of the disease and the social response that’s come along with it.

"The Global Studies Center wanted to continue this conversation both as a service to our communities and as an intellectual contribution to our evolving understanding of this pandemic and its effects, said Goodhart.

“One of the things most interesting for me to track as a historian has been the way people have been talking about what they should be doing, and how it impacts their lives,” said Webel, who has recently published two articles in The Conversation about the and of identifying the virus with its place of origin.

“The translation of early information about COVID-19—which focused on older demographic populations being most at risk, which focused on men—and the early guidance about mask-wearing, we’re seeing that change over time … It’s been an interesting phenomenon see to play out,” Webel said.

Goodhart said that the Global Studies Center will be organizing related online events throughout the summer and encouraged people to check their for information.