Unmasked [CLOTH ]

Unmaskedis the story of what happened in Okoboji, a small Iowan tourist town, when a collective turn from the coronavirus to the economy occurred in the COVID summer of 2020. State political failures, local negotiations among political and public health leaders, and community (dis)belief about the virus resulted in Okoboji being declared a hotspot just before the Independence Day weekend, when an influx of half a million people visit the town.

The story is both personal and political. Author Emily Mendenhall, an anthropologist at Georgetown University, grew up in Okoboji, and her family still lives there. As the events unfolded, Mendenhall was in Okoboji, where she spoke formally with over 100 people and observed a community that rejected public health guidance, revealing deep-seated mistrust in outsiders and strong commitments to local thinking.Unmaskedis a fascinating and heartbreaking account of where people put their trust, and how isolationist popular beliefs can be in America's small communities.

This book is the recipient of the 2022 Norman L. and Roselea J. Goldberg Prize from Vanderbilt University Press for the best book in the area of art or medicine.What happens when policy fails in a small, Midwestern tourist town during a pandemic?“An essential read for understanding these increasingly disunited states. Mendenhall artfully unravels and interrogates the complex, layered histories and ideologies underpinning belief in science and trust in institutions.”
—Seema Yasmin, author ofViral BS: Medical Myths and Why We Fall for Them“Vital to encouraging others to look more deeply into their assumptions about what motivates people under the stress of a pandemic. . . . Interesting, engaging, and important.”
—Prabhjot Singh, author ofDying and Living in the Neighborhood: A Street-Level View of America’s Healthcare Promise“Unmasked