Are you a WUR student searching for a master’s thesis topic? Write your master’s thesis on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on everyday life and consumption practices.
Are you interested in consumption and an opportunity to undertake research for your master’s thesis exploring cultural differences in the lived experience of the coronavirus pandemic? The investigation will explore the research question How are everyday consumption practices changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic across different cultural contexts?
We are searching for an enthusiastic and ambitious master’s student to investigate this topic.
Study context:
The scale and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in recent history. The Corona pandemic is currently disrupting everyday life in 189 countries of the world. In their attempt to urgently control the healthcare implications of the pandemic, governments are placing restrictions on the freedom of movement of citizens and their participation in economic and social activities. These measures are impacting many of the social practices (travel, food, work, gym, school, holidays) that comprise everyday life in contemporary societies. However, different experiences and intervention strategies across Europe point to the importance of socio-political and governing contexts for meditating the form and effect of the disruption being caused by the pandemic on experiences and practices in daily life.
The current COVID-19 pandemic provides an important and immediate empirical context in which to advance understandings of the social dynamics of everyday consumption practices
Research focus:
This research opportunity will involve comparing the lived experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic on everyday domestic life and consumption practices among Dutch and Irish citizens through a social practice theory lens. In the context of constraints placed on empirical research in the context of the pandemic, all methods will be implemented through online platforms. You will be supported to develop your critical sociological research and analytical skills and contribute to important empirical research.
Interested in writing your master’s thesis on this topic?
Please get in touch if you :
- Are interested in sociology and consumption research
- Have a background in or familiarity with social practice theories
- Are experienced in and interested in doing qualitative and/or quantitative research; e.g. semi-structured interviews, video diary methods, surveys
- Are interested in comparative research methods (e.g. comparing two cultural contexts)
- Are willing to conduct online interviews and/or surveys with Irish and Dutch citizen’s on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on everyday life and consumption practices
- Are fluent in English and Dutch and are willing to conduct and write your research in English
- Have an average grade of 7.5/8 or above
- Are able to start this April (possible to start immediately)
If you are enthusiastic about this research topic, please send an e-mail to mary.greene@wur.nl at your earliest convenience (cc. gert.spaargaren@wur.nl and sigrid.wertheim-heck@wur.nl) Please provide a short statement that outlines why you are interested in the topic and how you fit the profile outlined.
Best wishes,
Mary Greene
Dr. Mary Greene
Assistant Professor – Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands – mary.greene@wur.nl – +353 (0)85731 8953 – Twitter
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