Contrastación documentada: La peste, Albert Camus frente al coronavirus.

Abstract

The curricular integration project presented here contrasts Albert Camus's novel "The Plague" (1947) with the coronavirus pandemic crisis that emerged in 2020, focusing on literary, philosophical, and social aspects. Its main purpose is to analyze human reactions to health emergencies, highlighting the main differences and similarities between fiction and recent historical events. This critical evaluation seeks to show how literature can predict, reinterpret, or distance itself from reality, providing ethical and symbolic keys to understanding social behavior in difficult times. The research was conducted with a qualitative approach, applying phenomenological-hermeneutic methods, content analysis, and grounded theory. To gather information, both bibliographic sources and semi-structured interviews with three professionals were used: a literary expert, a reporter, and a psychologist. Their contributions enriched the critique from diverse cultural, communicative, and emotional perspectives. Furthermore, data triangulation allowed for a deeper understanding of collective fear, solidarity, isolation, and resistance, phenomena present both in the narrative and in the pandemic situation. Among the most relevant findings is that The Plague offers a contemporary philosophical and ethical perspective, while the COVID-19 crisis includes new variables such as digitalization and globalization. Finally, this research reaffirms the transformative power of literature as a pedagogical and humanistic tool, capable of fostering critical awareness in the face of contemporary social challenges.