Big Takeaway:
Although The Seattle Freeze; Born to Quarantine is about Seattle during the pandemic, many of these themes are universal, namely empathy, communication, isolation, quality time, and community. This project also exposes more dramatically some deficits in the way our society works such as in wealth and racial inequality, lack of a federal response, healthcare and coordination between health care entities. Luckily, there is also beauty in the way that people have come together and are looking out for each other, and the selflessness of health care workers and other essential workers. This project has also helped me dive deeper into learning about the city I call home so I can better understand the impacts and moving pieces of this pandemic in Seattle.
Impact on Career Goals
This project helped reinforce and further refine my interest in social structures and people, as well as in bringing creativity and aesthetics into whatever I am doing in order to allow me to storytell in more than one way.
Liberal Arts Application
Although this project is classified as Anthropology, it brought together aspects from a wide variety of liberal arts disciplines such as Art (photography), Sociology, Computer Science, Environmental Analysis, and Politics.
Future Directions
I am planning on continuing research, exploring topics such as the effects of covid19 on small business owners, larger companies such as Amazon, and on senior citizens, as the first outbreak was in Washington at a senior housing institution. I also hope to conduct interviews and eventually turn my research and photos into a book!
The proceeds from the book will be donated to a charity supporting racial equality or covid19 relief.