Embodied Dread in COVID-19 Images and Narratives

In her article, “Embodied Dread in Covid-19 Images and Narratives,” anthropologist Sabina Perrino examines how historical memories of disaster resurfaced as bodily feelings of dread and fear during the COVID-19 pandemic. She begins by focusing on historical narratives of the Spanish flu, noting how photographs and stories can evoke embodied fear, dread, and trauma. These emotional responses, she argues, emerge from the ways time and space intersect, creating connections between past and present experiences.

Methodologically, Perrino suggests that autoethnographic experiences, such as her own account of anxiety during the pandemic, can be analyzed through a phenomenological lens. She draws on Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of the “chronotope (literally, ‘time-space’),” which shows how time and space intertwine, allowing memory to bridge past and present.

Through her own autoethnographic account of anxiety over her family during the COVID-19 surge in Italy, Perrino reflects on how a chronotope of warfare symbolizes a patriotic response, with the Italian military commemorating pandemic victims in parades reminiscent of World War memorials. In contrast, another chronotope, defined by despair, captures the widespread, recurring global anxiety triggered by the pandemic. In both cases, Perrino highlights humanity’s tendency to forget history and repeat its mistakes. Ultimately, her chronotopes offer an opportunity for increased awareness, suggesting that while memory may fade, the emotions these events evoke remain powerfully impactful.