about what the pandemic has taken away from her college experience . This feeling was echoed by first-year student Morgan Korovec , majoring in communication . “ There has been so much more focus on spreading hope and optimism during this pandemic that somewhere we forgot to acknowledge our present feelings or our current state of mind ,” she says . “ Completing the diary assignment encouraged me to make time for self-reflection and to really think about the important things , even beyond the scope of college life .”
In preparation for the project , students read and reflected on first-person accounts from past pandemics , starting with the Athenian plague of 430 B . C . E ., followed by the Black Plague of the mid-1300s and , lastly , a personal journal from Wuhan , China , near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic .
“ What makes these different from other primary historical sources is they ’ re much more personal . I wanted to emphasize that in my own diaries ,” says Clara Pham , a first-year history major . Her diary entries were audio recordings , so she could capture more intimate moments of silence and sound . “ I wanted my audience to get another layer of vulnerability ,” she says .
EDINGTON ’ S COURSE is just one way COVID-19 has entered curricula — other humanities classes have also adapted syllabi to speak to today ’ s pandemic .
Last summer , associate professor Saba Bazargan-Forward developed his philosophy class “ Ethics & Society ” to explicitly address issues pertaining to COVID-19 , including moral discussions around face masks and forced quarantine , racism and racially disproportionate COVID-19 deaths and privacy issues regarding contact tracing .
And this past winter , assistant professor in literature Erin Suzuki offered the course “ Pandemic Fictions ,” using modern American fiction to highlight understandings of public health , race and economics . Suzuki , whose research interests include Asian American and
Pacific Island literature , explained that in the texts for the class , pandemics are often metaphors for something else , such as oppressive governments and racial inequalities . But for students today , “ pandemic ” is more than a metaphor — it is a new way of life .
The COVID-19 pandemic has doubtlessly changed our lives and the way we see the world as a global community . “ I feel our curriculum should reflect the experiences of our students and give them a place to talk about their own stories ,” says Edington .
Yet , with history as a guide , the current pandemic will diminish , and
Students in professor Claire Edington ' s “ History of Public Health ” course read accounts of historic pandemics and then composed their own . Here are samples of how they all fit together :
“ The most terrifying aspect of the whole affliction was the despair which resulted when someone realized that he had the disease : people immediately lost hope , and so through their attitude of mind were much more likely to let themselves go and not hold out .” — Thucydides , “ The Plague of Athens ” from History of the Peloponnesian War
“ One citizen avoided another , everybody neglected their neighbors and rarely or never visited their parents and relatives unless from a distance […] How many noble men , how many beautiful ladies , how many light-hearted youth , who were such that Galen , Hippocrates , or Asclepius would declare them the healthiest of all humans , had breakfast in the morning with their relatives , companions , or friends , and had dinner that evening in another world with their ancestors !”
— Giovanni Boccaccio , Introduction of The Decameron humanity will endure , albeit changed . As our students of today become grandparents and great-grandparents of tomorrow , their personal accounts of this time will ensure that future generations may better understand the complexity of this historic era .
“ Diaries in the Time of Plague ” are available via the UC San Diego Library at tritonmag . com / diaries
Alumni are also welcome to share their pandemic experiences in Triton ’ s “ Dispatches from a Pandemic ” series . Read more at tritonmag . com / dispatches
“ Plague Diaries ,” from Then and Now
“ The virus is the common enemy of humankind ; that is a lesson for all humanity . The only way we can conquer this virus and free ourselves from its grip is for all members of humankind to work together .”
— Fang Fang , “ Wuhan Diary : Dispatches from a Quarantined City ” ( 2020 )
“ When I see empty shelves at the store , I can ’ t help but ponder people ’ s different response to the pandemic . For some , donating and helping others brings them comfort . For others , excessively hoarding items and piling six cases of toilet paper in their carts seems to bring that same feeling .”
— Paige Nguyen , first-year student , “ Diaries in the Time of Plague – November 14 , 2020 ”
“ No matter what happens tomorrow , the sun will rise again . Days will pass by . I sit here hoping for that day to come where I don ’ t have to fear my own family … But staying away from each other is the best form of love and care during these times .
— Anonymous student , “ Diaries in the Time of Plague – November 21 , 2020 ”
TRITONMAG . COM 17