Global health governance and the production of subaltern mourning in COVID-19: a case study on mass graves in Manaus and New York

• Grant number: 24/01408-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - International Politics
• Principal Investigator: Deisy de Freitas Lima Ventura
• Grantee: Mariana Cabral Campos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Relações Internacionais (IRI). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The research project investigates the intricate dynamics of mourning experiences in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic and argues that the uneven distribution of death, mourning experiences and memory opportunities within hegemonic structures sheds light on the context of marginalized communities. Based on the cases of mass graves in the cities of Manaus and New York, the research aims to explore their implications for international politics, expanding the vocabulary of governance and global health governance and understanding the resonance of death in contemporary democracies in the global context. This effort is justified by the gap in the literature on bereavement in global governance, revealing how hegemonic norms perpetuate inequalities in the experiences of death and in access to justice and memory. Through a case study, the research combines bibliographical research with interviews involving families, researchers, political agents, activists and professionals from the funeral sector. A feminist and decolonial theoretical framework guides the analysis of the research problem, which focuses on underprivileged mourning and bad deaths during the pandemic, examining how marginalized lives are so even in death and how this relates to power structures that vehemently deny recognition. Thus, the research also dialogues with transitional justice and its intertwining with covid-19, in the demand for memory, truth, justice and reparation.