Third party funded individual grant
Acronym: FoM
Start date : 01.11.2020
End date : 31.07.2021
Website: https://www.soziologie.phil.fau.de/faces-of-masking/
‚Faces of Masking‘ is an international cooperation of social scientists that analyses practices and narratives of masking during the Covid-19-pandemic and explores alternative formats of presenting scientific results by including visual arts.
Although most people seem to agree with the idea that wearing masks would protect others and keep infection rates low, there is also resistance. ‘Community masks’ have become much more than mere objects of medical purpose. Especially the protests in several places bring to light how the mask has not only various meanings within the pandemic but also how they have changed over time. At the beginning, when masks were scarce worldwide, their wearers considered as selfish hoarders and their effectiveness questioned, while presently, when they are mandatory (Germany) or recommended (Finland), people without masks are considered as lacking solidarity. While in Germany we can see resistance, in Finland there is an expectation of voluntariness. Thus, in addition to discussing the protective effects, it is also important to discuss their socio-material dynamics.