My name is McLain Sidmore and I am a Junior history major at Carleton. My focus is the study of American history and I have had several experiences working in public history, particularly in the area of education in the Northfield Middle School SCOPE project and at the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind. I hope to rely on this background in research and archival creation to allow me to shift my focus to compiling an archive of this new world we are living in and working to identify and preserve diverse voices for future generations of historians.
I am spending this quarantine at home in Juneau, AK which has thankfully been somewhat isolated from the worst of the disaster. Yet rural areas present their own risks and we will likely see far greater impacts in the coming months on these areas. The lockdowns and mitigation efforts are also having tremendous impacts around the country but their certainly not being felt equally among all Americans. For this reason, I am interested in working this term on how this pandemic is affecting different age groups, from seniors and elders who are being separated from their families and communities that rely on them as leaders, to children, some of whom are without access to the education, food, or safety that school affords them. These are stories we need to highlight and understand during the pandemic, and to preserve and remember for years to come.
This is so interesting, McLain! A lot of the discourse re: elderly people right now is getting wrapped up in their vulnerability and their dependence on younger individuals (professionals, family members, etc.) and public programs. I think the point you bring up about the role they play as leaders (on whom we younger generations depend) is really important and something I have not given a lot of thought to.