[Air-L] CFM--Discordant Pandemic Narratives in the U.S.

[Sarina Chen]

*CFM--Discordant Pandemic Narratives in the U.S.*

Unlike Germany, Taiwan, or New Zealand, where there was an united front
nationally, comating COVID-19 in 2020, the pandemic narratives in the US
were discordant, which resulted in chaotic pandemic responses from the
start.  The discordant narratives originated in the Situation Room among
members of White House Coronavirus Task Force, which then spilled over into
the Task Force's daily briefings, creating a situation of President Donald
Trump vs. Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key figure in the Task Force, on issues
regarding shelter-in-place, masks, or anti-malaria drugs, etc.  The
conflicting views of President Trump and Dr. Fauci, confused the American
public, at a critical time when clear guidance was needed.

On the state level, facing a national pandemic, governors looked to
President Trump for leadership, but President Trump told the governors that
they were on their own, as President Trump saw himself not as a national
leader, but merely as a sideline supporter, in combating the pandemic.
Governors had many complaints about the lack of federal guidance and help.
One of the complaints was the competition from the federal government for
medical supplies amid shortage, as the federal government worked to
increase its own stockpile.  The lack of national coordination led to
unnecessary competition.

In business, companies made their own safety rules as the federal
government stands aside.  Unsafe rules were implemented, workers went to
work fearing for their lives.  Conflicting practices were found in
industries due to free-wheeling interpretations of government
recommendations; for instance, human salons were closed, due to being a
non-essential business, while animal salons were open, as they were part of
the pet food stores.  Inconsistent practices led to outbreaks in
meatpacking plants, long term care facilities, etc.

In addition, there was discordance among citizens in the US.  After
President Trump had imposed restrictions on travel to China in January
2020, nearly 40,000 Americans made their trips to China.  Amid the
coronavirus pandemic, 70 college students chartered a plane for spring
break, only to find 44 with coronavirus upon return in March, 2020; and an
Iowa man hosted 600 people in horse auction, ignoring social-distancing
guidelines in April, 2020.  Churches held Palm Sunday services in April,
2020, despite state bans on gatherings. As the coronavirus pandemic
escalated, only 2 in 5 Americans canceled plans to be in crowds for the
Memorial weekend in May, 2020.  Discordant incidents were countless.

Due to the discordant narratives and chaotic responses, the death toll of
COVID-19 stacked up quickly.  A fatality of two Vietnam Wars was recorded
in just two months after the pandemic outbreak.  By October, 2020, more
than a quarter million lives had been lost in the U.S. due to the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic, a historical event, with such a high death toll,
clearly calls for a careful examination of the discordant narratives that
embodied the chaos, tensions, and conflicts in the U.S. pandemic
responses.  My colleagues and I are proposing an edited volume to address
the various forms of discordance found in pandemic narratives in the U.S.
Works are solicited that address the theoretical significance and
implications of the pandemic discordance from any discipline
(communication, sociology, psychology, business, education, political
science, etc.) using any metholodogical inquiries (quantitative,
qualitative or rhetoric).  Works need to not only describe the discordance,
but also address the theoretical significance of the discordance.  It is
our hope that the discordance serves to illustrate the theories, and the
theories provide a deeper understanding of the discordance.

Topics to be considered, but not limited to:

Preparation for a virus pandemic in the US
Panic shopping as pandemic preparation
Is COVID-19 pandemic a war?
Federal government's responses to pandemic: order or chaos?
President Trump's role in pandemic: leader or backup?
The conflicting interest of health vs. economy in pandemic
The conflicting interest of science vs. politics in pandemic
President Trump vs. Dr. Fauci
mask or no mask
lock down or no lock down
hydroxychloroquine or no hydroxychloroquine
Personal freedom vs. social responsibility in pandemic
Did states with few restrictions, have the worst outbreaks?
The ethics of travel in pandemic
Pandemic and the political divide
Pandemic and technology
Pandemic and education
Pandemic and family
Pandemic and church
Pandemic and race
Pandemic and racism
Pandemic and environment
Pandemic and crime
Pandemic and mental health
Pandemic and the homeless
Pandemic and undocumented workers

If interested, please send an* abstract of no more than 750 words to Sarina
Chen, sarina.chen at uni.edu <sarina.chen at uni.edu>, by January 15, 2021. *

We strongly encourage you to send us your abstract for consideration.
Academic research has a social and historical role to fulfill, please help
us fulfill this important role by addressing this important issue.  We
would like not only the contemporary, but also the future generations, to
understand just what went wrong in the COVID-19 pandemic responses in the
U.S. that resulted in such a high death toll.  We need your expertise to
help us achieve this goal.  Thank you for considering.

Any inquiries about this call for manuscripts, please contact Sarina Chen,
sarina.chen at uni.edu.  Thanks again.

Sincerely,

Sarina Chen
Professor, Dept of Communication and Media
University of Northern Iowa
*****************************