As I write this First Word from Burkina Faso, where I am researching masquerade, unpredictability is on my mind. Full-bodied, animated masks here are inherently capricious—one never knows what they might do. Perform a few dance steps? Threaten someone? Ham it up for the crowd? Make indecent gestures? Pass by? Masks’ mercurial behavior unsettles our sense of stability (Fig. 2). The feasibility of conducting research abroad is equally unpredictable. COVID-19 has prevented many of us from going about business as usual, including traveling abroad. The virus poses health hazards and individuals risk harm to themselves (through infection) and others (via spread and further mutation of the virus) when they travel and engage in social activities. Eventually, vaccines, boosters, treatments, testing, face coverings (“masks”), physical distancing, improved air filtration and ventilation, and other measures have for many of us promoted a sense of safety in congregate settings—and yet the...

You do not currently have access to this content.