july 24 2020 masking the spirit of 2020 explore 13 ways of thinking about masks inspired by the 13 departments in the college of liberal arts by heather rodriguez ‘04 and rachel knight ‘18 symbols are often used to identify and define a certain period of time the 1970s had peace signs; the 1980s had the mtv logo; and most likely 2020 will be known for face masks due to the covid-19 pandemic in the spirit of thinking outside the box and imagining things a little differently the college of liberal arts at texas a&m university came up with 13 ways of thinking about masks inspired by the colleges 13 departments while some of these ways of thinking relate directly to covid-19 others are more whimsical and offer a nice break from pandemic related content we hope youll join us in masking-up in the spirit of 2020 anthropology anthropologists study culture thanks to anthropologists we are able to better understand things like traditions and symbols at texas a&m masks are part of our pandemic culture and as one anthropologist suggests they symbolize civic responsibility during a global pandemic communication masked love statements communication majors at texas a&m study both verbal and nonverbal communication cues on valentines day its easy to spot nonverbal communication cues as lovers exchange greeting cards and gifts this year as covid-19 swept through china couples exchanged masks sanitizers and alcohol wipes instead of letters and chocolates how have your nonverbal communication cues changed during the pandemic economics saving lives & the economy wearing a face mask may save more than experts originally thought in addition to saving tens or thousands of lives wearing a face mask just might be the best way to do your part in saving the economy english invisible mask though wearing a mask is highly visible during the covid-19 pandemic some masks are harder to see unless we really look for them maya agnelou speaks of a different kind of mask worn out of love in her poem titled the mask hispanic studies behind the máscaras hilaire kallendorf a professor of hispanic and religious studies researches the many aspects of religious experience while people don colorful masks to celebrate dia de los muertos today this was not always the case in an article the college published in celebration of dia de los muertos and halloween kallendorf says theres more to dia de los muertos than commercial depictions of it suggest interdisciplinary critical studies masking it all just as fabric thread and elastic form a mask africana studies film and media studies latino/a and mexican american studies religious studies and womens and gender studies form interdisciplinary critical studies in the college of liberal arts together each part makes a stronger and more effective student international studies masks across the globe in addition to being used to protect people in 2020 from the coronavirus masks have been used for centuries across the globe as religious symbols representations of animals and to disguise peoples identities learn about various international uses of masks to get in the spirit of international studies! performance studies theatrical masks masks have been used in theatrical performances throughout history last summer students participated in a mask workshop led by performance studies professor rayna dexter during the workshop each student randomly chose one flower/plant name and one stock character from hats the words they drew served as inspiration to design a mask for their character this fall students can learn more about the use of masks in costume design by taking dexters collaborative design process class philosophy give me liberty; give me a mask perhaps theres nothing more american than debating the balance between protecting personal liberty and promoting the collective good the covid-19 pandemic has brought this debate into the spotlight as many debate whether or not to wear a mask clare palmer the george t and gladys h abell professor of liberal arts and professor of philosophy explains the importance of this topic in scientific inquiry political science masks for president halloween mask sales may be an accurate way to predict the outcome of american presidential elections surveys of halloween spirit stores have correctly reflected victories in presidential races since bill clinton was elected in 1996! want to know more about the mass political economy checkout guy whittens research psychological & brain sciences fight boredom by masking up cope with boredom by seeking a new hobby thats the advice dr heather lench department head of psychological and brain sciences gave at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic sewing masks may be the best hobby to try because in addition to fighting boredom it also helps ease covid-19 related anxiety sociology accepting change the world as we know it will look different after the coronavirus pandemic according to joe feagin sociologist and former american sociological association president the longer we live our daily lives adapting to the pandemic the more likely we are to permanently change our social behaviors to include increased hygiene accepting these changes now and wearing a mask could save lives the economy and preserve some of the social norms from before the latest global pandemic news covid-19 mask philosophy