Miami in Transformation during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Participatory Visual Culture Analysis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.20.1.2021.3772

Keywords:

COVID-19 pandemic, Miami, Visual Culture, participatory photography methods, epidemics, coronavirus and economic insecurity

Abstract

While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt around the world, Miami, Florida is one example of the specific and unique ways in which this pandemic is experienced. Drawing on the concepts of visual culture analysis and disaster literature, this article analyses how the COVID-19 pandemic transformed the everyday lives of people living in this subtropical American city. Specifically, this study draws on data collected from a digital participatory photography project implemented in July 2020, as the novel coronavirus began to rapidly spread. Through an inductive thematic analysis of participants’ photographs and captions, we discovered that the COVID-19 pandemic transformed not only basic daily needs but also lead to recognition of privilege and an awareness of the needs and vulnerabilities of others. While many of the complexities illustrated in this study are left unresolved, the photos and captions are useful examples of how visual depictions can be used to inform and realign the ways in which people interpret and respond to global public health crises. 

Author Biographies

Kaila Witkowski, Florida International University

Kaila Witkowski is a PhD candidate at Florida International University, Department of Public Policy & Administration. Her research and teaching interests include health policy, health epidemics/crises, emergency management, and participatory qualitative methods. Specifically, her research focuses on using mixed-method techniques to improve government actions and policy outcomes responding to stigmatized health issues such as opioid abuse and HIV.

John Vertovec, Florida International University

John Vertovec is a PhD candidate in Global and Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University, USA. His dissertation project ethnographically examined the intersections of structural conditions, inequalities, and income generating behaviors in Havana, Cuba. He also does community-based participatory research (CBPR) in other Caribbean spaces (Miami and Puerto Rico, among others) to identify local interpretations of complex social/structural factors that are most important to local populations. One such CBPR project is the GREETINGS COVIDIANS participatory photography project that sought to provide a cathartic space for community members to reflect on the transformations happening around them during COVID-19.

Natália Marques da Silva, Florida International University

Natália Marques da Silva is a Doctoral Candidate in Global & Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University. Her current research focuses on memory, heritage, and travel, as well as representations and narratives of enslavement.

Raymond K. Awadzi, Florida International University

Raymond K. Awadzi is a doctoral student in the Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies, Florida International University. His research focuses on transnational networking and identity politics in Africa and the African diaspora. Raymond has done research in the areas of religion and state interface, church history and African Christian in reverse missions in South Florida. He is currently conducting his dissertation field research on transnational networking and ethnic reconstructions among African diaspora communities in North America. He works on the GREETINGS COVIDIANS research team with nine other researchers from seven different disciplinary backgrounds.

Farah Yamini, Florida International University

Farah Yamini is a non-binary Masters student in the Department of English at Florida International University. Their research interests includes resilience and subjects in the margins, third spaces, visual data and collaboration between community and university partners. 

Nelson Varas-Díaz , Florida International University

Dr Nelson Varas-Díaz is a Professor of social-community psychology at Florida International University’s Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies. His research addresses the social, political and individual level implications of stigmatization.  His research has focused on the social stigmatization of disease (i.e. HIV/AIDS, addiction), marginalized groups (i.e. transgender individuals) and cultural practices (i.e. metal music, religion). His work has been published in multiple journals, including the Journal of Community PsychologyAIDS CareCulture, Health and Sexuality, Journal of Homosexuality, Global Public Health, and Metal Music Studies. His documentary films have garnered 75 laurels in international film festivals.

Mark Padilla, Florida International University

Dr Mark Padilla is a professor of anthropology in the Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University. He is a medical anthropologist with research and teaching interests in issues of gender, sexuality, race, migration, political economy, commercial or transactional sex, theories of tourism, and critical HIV/AIDS and drug research. His work seeks to shift research, dialogue, and policy by amplifying the voices and experiences of the communities he studies to raise awareness of social inequalities and provide directions for policy change, community engagement, and social transformation.

Sheilla L. Rodríguez-Madera, Florida International University

Dr Sheilla L. Rodríguez-Madera is a social scientist specializing on the social conditions affecting the health of vulnerable populations. She is the former Executive Director of the Puerto Rico’s Commission for the Prevention of Violence and the past president of the Psychological Association of Puerto Rico. She has multiple publications in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes; published six books; and participated extensively in academic forums worldwide while disseminating her work. She has received multiple research grants from the National Institutes of Health. Her research interests are related to structural violence and health outcomes, and disaster management in impoverish contexts. 

Armando Matiz Reyes, Florida International University

Dr Armando Matiz Reyes is a research associate at Florida International University in the area of public health and a specialist in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), having conducted numerous research and community intervention projects in the urban US (Miami, Detroit), the Caribbean (Dominican Republic), and Latin America (Colombia, Panama). Dr Matiz’s work focuses on structural vulnerabilities and health promotion among marginalized populations, including LGBT persons, sex workers, gang members, and incarcerated populations.

Matthew Marr, Florida International University

Dr Matthew Marr is Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Global & Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University. His research focuses on homelessness in the US and Japan, showing how urban marginality is shaped by social conditions operating at multiple levels, from the global to the individual. 

References

Ahmed, S. M., & Maurana, C. A. (2000). Reaching out to the Underserved: a Successful Volunteer Program. American Journal of Public Health, 90(3), 439–440. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.90.3.439.

Askew, S. (2020, March 26). Miami Beach losing $3.6 million weekly in tourism revenue due to coronavirus pandemic. REMiamiBeach. https://www.remiamibeach.com/citywide/miami-beach-losing-3-6-million-weekly-in-tourism-revenue-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic/

Azevedo, J., Hasan, A., Goldemberg, D., Iqbal, S., & Geven, K. (2020). Simulating the Potential Impacts of COVID-19 School Closures on Schooling and Learning Outcomes: A Set of Global Estimates. Policy Research Working Papers. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-9284

Bedford, J., Farrar, J., Ihekweazu, C., Kang, G., Koopmans, M., & Nkengasong, J. (2019). A new twenty-first century science for effective epidemic response. Nature, 575(7781), 130-136.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1717-y

Callender, B., Obuobi, S., Czerwiec, M. K., & Williams, I. (2020). COVID-19, comics, and the visual culture of contagion. The Lancet, 396(10257), 1061-1063.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32084-5

Carter, D. (2020, November 5). County opts not to reconsider governor’s mask mandate. The Miami County Republic. https://www.republic-online.com/news/local_news/county-opts-not-to-reconsider-governors-mask-mandate/article_12475936-1d26-11eb-869c-e33eb509e4d8.html

Cherrie, J. W., Apsley, A., Cowie, H., Steinle, S., Mueller, W., Lin, C., & Loh, M. (2018). Effectiveness of face masks used to protect Beijing residents against particulate air pollution. Occupational and environmental medicine, 75(6), 446-452.

https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2017-104765

Coates, K. S., Healy, R., & Morrison, W. R. (2002). Tracking the snowbirds: Seasonal migration from Canada to the USA and Mexico. American Review of Canadian Studies, 32(3), 433-450.https://doi.org/10.1080/02722010209481670

Colten, C. E., & Giancarlo, A. (2011). Losing resilience on the Gulf Coast: hurricanes and social memory. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 53(4), 6-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00139157.2011.588548

Cooter, R., & Stein, C. (2010). Visual imagery and epidemics in the twentieth century. Imagining illness: Public health and visual culture, 169-92. https://doi.org/10.5749/minnesota/9780816648221.003.0009

Cullen, W., Gulati, G., & Kelley, B. D. (2020). Mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic. QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, 113(5): 311-312.https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/hcaa110

Das, V., & Singh, B. (1995). Critical events: an anthropological perspective on contemporary India (Vol. 7). Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/2077568

Davis, R. (2013). The Spanish flu: narrative and cultural identity in Spain, 1918. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137339218

Day, J., Chin, N., Sydnor, S., & Cherkauer, K. (2013). Weather, climate, and tourism performance: A quantitative analysis. Tourism Management Perspectives, 5, 51-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2012.11.001

Elliott, Diana et al. (March 2017). “Miami and the State of Low- and Middle-Income Housing: Strategies to Preserve Affordability and Opportunities for the Future” Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/89311/miami_lmi_2.pdf

Emmison, M., Smith, P., & Mayall, M. (2012). Researching the visual. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781473913899

Engelmann, L. (2018). Mapping AIDS: visual histories of an enduring epidemic. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108348959

Evans, J., & Hall, S. (Eds.). (1999). Visual culture: The reader. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Evans, S. D., Rosen, A. D., Kesten, S. M., & Moore, W. (2014). Miami thrives: Weaving a poverty reduction coalition. American Journal of Community Psychology, 53(3-4), 357-368. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-014-9657-z

Faas, A. J., & Barrios, R. E. (2015). Applied anthropology of risk, hazards, and disasters. Human Organization, 74(4): 287-295. https://doi.org/10.17730/0018-7259-74.4.287

Florida Health (2021, January 23). Plan for Florida’s Recovery. Florida Health. https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/plan-for-floridas-recovery/

Gaffney, C., & Eeckels, B. (2020). COVID-19 and Tourism Risk in the Americas. Journal of Latin American Geography, 19(3): 308-313. https://doi.org/10.1353/lag.2020.0054

Grady, J. (2008, October). Visual research at the crossroads. In Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-9.3.1173

Graffigna, G. & Riva, G. (2015). Social media monitoring and understanding: an integrated mixed methods approach for the analysis of social media. International Journal of Web Based Communities, 11(1): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJWBC.2015.067083

Graham LF, Matiz Reyes A, Lopez W, Snow, R. C., & Padilla, M. B. (2013) Addressing Economic Devastation and Built Environment Degradation to Prevent Violence: A Photovoice Project of Detroit Youth PasSages. Community Literacy Journal Fall 2003(1): 41–52. https://doi.org/10.1353/clj.2013.0019

Harkness, A., Behar-Zusman, V., & Safren, S. A. (2020) Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on Latino Sexual Minority Men in a US HIV Hot Spot. AIDS and Behaviour, 24: 2017-2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-02862-w

Hughes, P. (2007). Text and Textual Analysis. In E. Devereux (Ed.), Media Studies: Key Issues and Debates (pp. 249–282). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Ibn-Mohammed, T., K.B. Mustapha, J. Godsell, Z. Adamu, K.A. Babatunde, D.D. Akintade, A. Acquaye, et al. (2021). A Critical Analysis of the Impacts of COVID-19 on the Global Economy and Ecosystems and Opportunities for Circular Economy Strategies. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 164: 105169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105169.

Imber-Black, E. (2020). Rituals in the Time of COVID-19: Imagination, Responsiveness, and the Human Spirit. Family Process, 59(3): 912-921. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12581

Kelly, A. H., Keck, F., & Lynteris, C. (Eds.). (2019). The anthropology of epidemics. New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429461897

Lorenz, L. S., & Kolb, B. (2009). Involving the public through participatory visual research methods. Health expectations, 12(3), 262-274. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1369-7625.2009.00560.x

Losada-Baltar, A., Jiménez-Gonzalo, L., Gallego-Alberto, L., Pedroso-Chaparro, M. D. S., Fernandes-Pires, J., & Márquez-González, M. (2021). “We Are Staying at Home.” Association of self-perceptions of aging, personal and family resources, and loneliness with psychological distress during the lock-down period of COVID-19. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(2), e10-e16. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa048

Lynteris, C. (2018). Plague masks: the visual emergence of anti-epidemic personal protection equipment. Medical anthropology, 37(6), 442-457. https://doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2017.1423072

Mair, J., Ritchie, B. W., & Walters, G. (2016). Towards a research agenda for post-disaster and post-crisis recovery strategies for tourist destinations: A narrative review. Current Issues in Tourism, 19(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2014.932758

Margolis, E., & Pauwels, L. (Eds.). (2011). The SAGE handbook of visual research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446268278

McPherson, G. (2017). Floating on Sea of Funny Money: An Analysis of Money Laundering through Miami Real Estate and the Federal Government's Attempt to Stop It. U. Miami Bus. L. Rev., 26, 159. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/umblr26&div=9&id=&page=

Miami Beach (2020). COVID-19 declaration of state of emergency. City of Miami Beach. https://www.miamibeachfl.gov/city-hall/city-clerk/covid-19-declaration-of-state-of-emergency/

Mirzoeff, N., (2009). An Introduction to Visual Culture (2nd edn). New York, NY: Routledge.

Mitchell, C. (2011). Doing visual research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Murry, N.; Greiner, K.; Ilcheva, M., Lagvein, N. (2020, January 13). Miami Affordable Housing Master Plan. City of Miami. https://www.miamigov.com/Notices/News-Media/Miami-Affordable-Housing-Draft-Master-Plan

Nagata, J. M. (2020). Supporting young adults to rise to the challenge of COVID-19. Journal of Adolescent Health, 67(2), 297-298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.04.020

Nissen, B., & Russo, M. (2007). Strategies for Labor Revitalization: The Case of Miami. In D. B. Cornfield & L. Turner (Eds) Labor in the New Urban Battlegrounds: Local Solidarity in a Global Economy (pp. 147-162). ILR Press/Cornel University Press. https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501726682-012

Oliver-Smith, A. (1996). Anthropological research on hazards and disasters. Annual review of anthropology, 25(1), 303-328. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.25.1.303

Ozili, P. K., & Arun, T. (2020), Spillover of COVID-19: Impact on the Global Economy. Social Science Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3562570

Padilla M, Matiz-Reyes A, Colón-Burgos JF, Varas-Díaz, N., & Vertovec, J. (2019) Adaptation of PhotoVoice methodology to promote policy dialog among street-based drug users in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Arts and Health 11(2): 147–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2018.1444647

Park, K. S., Reisinger, Y., & Kang, H. J. (2008). Visitors' motivation for attending the South Beach wine and food festival, Miami Beach, Florida. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 25(2), 161-181. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548400802402883

Pauwels, L. (2011). An integrated conceptual framework for visual social. The SAGE handbook of visual research methods, 3. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446268278.n1

Pink, S. (2003). Interdisciplinary agendas in visual research: re-situating visual anthropology. Visual studies, 18(2), 179-192. https://doi.org/10.1080/14725860310001632029

Pink, S. (2021). Doing visual ethnography. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857025029

Portes, A. & Armony A. C. (2018). The Global Edge: Miami in the Twenty-First Century. Oakland: University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520297104.001.0001

Portes, A., Fernándex-Kelly, P., & Light, D. (2012). Life on the edge: immigrants confront the American health system. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 35(1), 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2011.594173

Re-Open Florida Task Force. (2020, April). Safe. Smart. Step-by-step: Plan for Florida’s recovery. State of Florida. https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/covid19/Taskforce%20Report.pdf

Roberts, D. (2020. April 22). In Florida, we love our beaches. Thanks to our governor, now we can die for them. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/florida-beach-coronavirus-desantis/2020/04/22/9a45c782-8429-11ea-ae26-989cfce1c7c7_story.html

Rose, G. (2014). On the relation between ‘visual research methods’ and contemporary visual culture. The sociological review, 62(1), 24-46. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954X.12109

Rose, G. (2016). Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials. SAGE Publications.

Ryan, G. W., & Bernard, R. H. (2003). Techniques to Identify Themes. Field Methods, 15(1), 85–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X02239569

Sahlins, M. (2017). Stone age economics. London, UK: Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315184951

Saint-Jean, G., & Crandall, L.A. (2005). Sources and Barriers to Health Care Coverage for Haitian Immigrants in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 16(1), 29-41. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2005.0016

Schumann, R. L. (2013). Recovering destination from devastation: Tourism, image, and economy along the hurricane coasts. Southeastern Geographer, 53(2), 136-156. https://doi.org/10.1353/sgo.2013.0010

Spradley, J. (2016). Participant observation. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.

Stanczak, G. (2007). Visual research methods: Image, society, and representation. Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412986502

Stubblefield, T. (2014). 9/11 and the Visual Culture of Disaster. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jav740

Stubbs, T., Kring, W., Laskaridis, C., Kentikelenis, A., & Gallagher, K. (2021). Whatever it takes? The global financial safety net, Covid-19, and developing countries. World Development, 137, 105171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105171

Sturken, M. & Cartwright, L., (2009). Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Suarez, F. (2020, March 18). I’m the Mayor of Miami, and I have the coronavirus. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/opinion/francis-suarez-coronavirus.html

Usher, K., Durkin, J., & Bhullar, N. (2020). The COVID‐19 pandemic and mental health impacts. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 29(3), 315. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12726

Vertovec J. (2020) Collaborative problem-solving through PhotoVoice : Helping community organizations move from network building to action in Havana, Cuba. Tracce Urbane 8: 159–179. https://doi.org/10.13133/2532-6562_4.8.17044

Wang, C., & Burris, M. A. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health education & behavior, 24(3), 369-387. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019819702400309

Weisenfeld, G. (2012). Imaging Disaster: Tokyo and the visual culture of Japan’s Great Earthquake of 1923 (Vol. 22). Univ of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520954243

Wiles, R., Clark, A., & Prosser, J. (2011). Visual research ethics at the crossroads. Sage visual methods, 1. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446268278.n36

Wilson, M. E., & Chen, L. H. (2020). Travelers give wings to novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Journal of Travel Medicine, 27(2). https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa015

Witkowski, K., Matiz Reyes, A., & Padilla, M. (2021). Teaching diversity in public participation through participatory research: A case study of the PhotoVoice methodology. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2020.1858534

Witkowski, K., Valerio, R., Samad, A., Matiz-Reyes, A., & Padilla, M. (2020). Aging and thriving with HIV: a photovoice project with long-term HIV survivors in Miami, Florida. Arts and Health, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2020.1821386

Yoo, S. & Managi, S. (2020). Global mortality benefits of COVID-19 action. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 160, 120231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120231

Downloads

Published

2021-04-19

How to Cite

Witkowski, K., Vertovec, J., da Silva, N. M., Awadzi, R. K., Yamini, F., Varas-Díaz , N., Padilla, M., Rodríguez-Madera, S. L., Matiz Reyes, A., & Marr, M. (2021). Miami in Transformation during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Participatory Visual Culture Analysis. ETropic: Electronic Journal of Studies in the Tropics, 20(1), 157–181. https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.20.1.2021.3772