[Ethnocomm] Call for Proposals: Culture and COVID-19

[Nadezhda Sotirova]

Hi all,
Hope you have brilliantly survived (and thrived!) another busy semester! I
am circulating this again as I'd really like to see some ethnographers
tackle this and am really excited to see your input. Preferably, I can also
rope in one of you into co-editing as well, but that's wishful thinking!

How about a volume on culture and covid? I know you are probably tired of
talking about covid but I know there's lots of cool work we can all
contribute to, within our field and health comm! So here is the call, again:

_____________________________________________________________

What is the role of culture in navigating the pandemic? Despite the
seemingly dissipating pandemic, and just as it might seem "things are going
back to normal," new strains and vaccine boosters continue to compete for
our attention and countries around the world are once again struggling to
answer COVID-19 questions. Are we going back to "normal"? How do we
re-think vaccination and boosters?

The ongoing uncertainty continues to produce opposition and questioning.
Some locations, individuals, and communities have had more trouble
implementing and sustaining COVID-19 rules than others and a discussion as
to the reason behind these occurrences soon followed. While some
communities seemed to have an easier time following and dealing with the
rules, others continued to struggle and rebel against both mandates and the
virus itself (denial, refusals of vaccines, or even tracking local numbers,
etc.).

Throughout the pandemic, the role of culture as focal in such vastly
different responses has been brought up in public discussions, editorials,
opinion pieces, conference presentations, and panel discussions. Even the
CDC site linked to a study highlighting the part culture plays in unpacking
health messages while UNESCO urged for more projects exploring the role and
impact of culture on recovery.

Frequently, such discussions have focused on collectivism and cultural
psychology, national culture, and mindsets but has been hesitant to make
generalizations and proscribe solutions as “culture” is not easy to define,
quantify, or link to specific policy outcomes. Why do some communities seem
to be complying more with mandates? Which communities have more trust in
science? What government structures are linked to more COVID-19 compliance?
Is it about larger notions of “freedom” and individual responsibility? Or
is it about who the perceived authorities are? Numerous questions with no
simple or easy answers to guide mandates and policies.

The editor invites proposals from scholars who would like to contribute to
an edited volume, in which a publisher has expressed preliminary interest.
Prospective contributors may submit a 350-word chapter abstract, and a
150-word biography, to nsotirov at morris.umn.edu by August 20, 2022, with
decisions to be shared by October 15, 2022.

Some possible chapter themes include (but are not restricted to) exploring
the role of culture in/and:

- Covid norms/regulation and peer policing/commenting

- Discursive forms and cultural norms

- Role of local conceptualizations/discourse on democracy (rights and
responsibilities)

- Agency and community

- Local norms restricting/allowing Covid compliance

- Discourse of authority

- Local context's role in compliance

- Local cultural terms related to covid

- Ethnographic explorations of covid and culture

- Role of ideology in public health

- Public health messaging and culture

- Sense-making and vaccination hesitancy

- Context and vaccination

Again, the topics are not restricted and can employ various methodologies,
with focus on the role of culture.

International collaboration is welcomed and much appreciated!

The volume's audience would be:

- Scholars in cultural communication interested in culture and health.

- Upper-level undergraduates or graduate students in cultural and health
communication.

I, Nadezhda Sotirova, welcome questions from prospective contributors by
email at nsotirov at morris.umn.edu.
Thank you!
Nade


-- 
Nadezhda Sotirova, Ph.D. (she/her)
Associate Professor
Communication, Media, & Rhetoric CMR
<https://academics.morris.umn.edu/communication-media-and-rhetoric>
Humanities and Fine Arts 105C
University of Minnesota Morris
Division of Humanities
600 East Fourth St.
Morris, Minnesota 56267
Email: nsotirov at morris.umn.edu
Phone: (320) 589-6244

The University of Minnesota Morris is located on land that has been cared
for and called home by the Dakota people, and later the Ojibwe people and
other Native peoples from time immemorial. Our state’s name, Minnesota,
comes from the Dakota name for this region, Mni Sota Makoce – “the land
where the waters reflect the skies.” By offering this land acknowledgment,
we affirm tribal sovereignty and express respect for Native peoples and
nations.
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