Project 1: Covid-19 Response

One of the major issues related to the COVD-19

Response are the cultural understandings that inform

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Our reaction to government actions and recommendations.

This has also affected interactions between individuals.

       https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/05/masks-coronavirus-america.html

• Some Americans see masks as infringing on their rights

• The fundamental issue at times is whether they believe that COVID-19 is a threat to them or others or even a real thing

• Masks have become politicized into a left/right division in which the left is willing to give up personal liberties to protect others while vocal parts of the right decry the crisis

• President Trump is representative of the right wing and refuses to wear a mask

• It is seen as “muzzling”

• However, it’s important to note that this isn’t the case for all Americans

• Quote from Lydia Denworth: “The point is that masks do not just protect the wearer, they protect others. Such community-minded thinking fits with collectivist cultural norms in some parts of Asia, where masks are routinely worn when one is sick—and where there is more experience with serious epidemics.”

• Covering the face is seen as covering one’s self

• Reacting against the government is an important part of rugged individualism          https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/masks-reveal-new-social-norms-what-a-difference-a-plague-makes/

• In some places, masks or veils have been banned

• Smoking and non-smoking sections were a regular thing until recent decades

• Masks are not an established norm yet in the U.S. as people are not “expected” by others to wear them

1. Early smoking studies focused on the effects on the smoker and not others around them and people felt that they had the right to make themselves sick if they wanted to

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/coronavirus-america-face-mask-culture-changing-meaning-changes-too/

•  Suki Xiao grew up in China during the SARS epidemic

•  She says: I’m protecting you, you’re protecting me, I can feel safe.”

Activities

Social Media Discussion

Read the National Geographic article and discuss the meaning of masks to you. Do you feel you wear the mask to help yourself or to help others? Do masks help you to feel safe? How do feel when you see others wear a mask? Share your response on social media with the hashtag #whyimask

Mask Design

Since everyone should be wearing a mask, many have taken the opportunity to personalize them by adding art or messages. Show us your mask and we will pick the one with the most unique design and highlight on our webpage