Since the outbreak of COVID-19, nations around the world announced and implemented city closures and other epidemic prevention measures, and the coronavirus pandemic has forced people to maintain social distancing (which might also be monitored by governments). For this reason, normal daily social, communal, and institutional events, such as ceremonies, festivals and weddings, have been deferred, modified and even canceled and these changes could generate profound impacts on family and society. Scholars from education, humanities, social sciences, and other related fields have recognized the necessity of adjusting teaching strategies to maintain learning standards. In addition, scholars have noticed how social distancing may reshape human relations and community identification and thus create long-term influences on human beings.

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“Social distance” in other contexts is not new. Themes and representations of isolation, social media, and services such as distance learning, etc. are closely related to the arts, humanities, social welfare, and education. Accordingly, COVID-19 has introduced a new context for researchers to reexamine these themes and topics and whether those adjustments lead to new learning patterns and unforeseen alterations in life styles.

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To better explore various impacts brought out by COVID-19, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in Asia University would like to propose this international conference and invite experts and practitioners, such as care takers, social workers, child-care workers, teachers and volunteers to present papers on related themes and topics. The conference aims to analyze and evaluate how social distancing may reformulate family functions, communication modes, relationships, teaching methods, and welfare measures from different aspects. Presenters may also examine representations in literature and art as embodiments of social distancing.