Chronotopes and the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract In this introduction we discuss the centrality of the management and perception of space-time coordinates during the Covid-19 crisis and highlight some of the main themes that contributors develop in their articles. In particular, we analyze how contributors’ elaborations of the notion of chronotope involve a discussion of fundamental issues such as the conceptualization of context, the relationships of chronotopes with ideologies, the configuration and interpretation of meanings at different levels, and their social circulation. In the second part of the introduction we discuss in what ways, by taking up a chronotopic lens, the contributors provide new insights into some of the social processes of meaning making and changes in social relations that have been emerging during the pandemic.