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Masking and the (Re)making of the Public Realm

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Masking in the Pandemic

Part of the book series: Consumption and Public Life ((CUCO))

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Abstract

This chapter explores masks as mediating interactions between strangers and acquaintances during the height of the pandemic. We are particularly interested in the interactional discomfort and negotiations that ensued as masking unsettled unwritten rules of co-mingling. This entailed both visible and measurable adjustments to frequency and length of interactions but also the more intangible dimension of how people experienced interactions that were no longer as predictable as they had been pre-pandemic. To address these questions, we draw from Goffman’s iconic work on how public order is regulated in face-to-face interaction. Our analysis leads us to critically examine the Eurocentric readings of the significance of “face” in interactions, as well as how these have informed academic research on the topic of masking. We also draw from a recent body of work exploring disruptions as essential to public order to explore the vital role played by interactional discomfort as people figured out what the new rules of interaction were. In doing so, we pay attention to how people’s experiences were shaped by underlying power inequalities and the role that trust and solidarity played in constituting “safe” stranger interactions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Owen Abbott

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Vanessa May & Sophie Woodward

  3. School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Robert Meckin

  4. Centre for Social Ethics and Policy, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Leah Gilman

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  1. Owen Abbott
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  2. Vanessa May
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  5. Leah Gilman
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Correspondence to Owen Abbott .

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Abbott, O., May, V., Woodward, S., Meckin, R., Gilman, L. (2023). Masking and the (Re)making of the Public Realm. In: Masking in the Pandemic. Consumption and Public Life. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45781-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45781-4_3

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-45780-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-45781-4

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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