Generation Pandemic
- Alan Jinich and Max Strickberger
- College of Arts & Sciences
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Student Creative Production Grant
Generation Pandemic.
Generation Pandemic is a multimedia oral history archive that documents the impact of COVID-19 on emerging adults in America. During the spring of 2021, Alan Jinich and Max Strickberger unenrolled from Penn to answer one question: How is the pandemic impacting our generation? Over the course of the semester, they conducted over 80 interviews with 18–25 year olds, meeting people across 16 states and 7,300 miles. Generation Pandemic explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated tensions intrinsic to emerging adulthood, highlighting how uncertainty has influenced major life decisions and future plans. The stories collected reveal generational themes of sudden movement and entrapment, delayed independence, introspection, and attempts at self-realization. By the end of 2021, Alan and Max had published 10 stories on their website, in various forms including edited transcripts and podcasts. The grant from the Sachs Program will enable them to further this work. They specifically want to focus on three key goals: making up for existing gaps in representation, broadening the scope of their stories, including incorporating cross-generational stories, and exploring new methods for documenting and sharing the stories they collect, such as through podcasts and video.