Item
Nolan Oral History 12/07/2021
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
Nolan Oral History 12/07/2021
Description (Dublin Core)
A few questions that show how Nolan's thoughts of the pandemic have changed.
Recording Date (Dublin Core)
Creator (Dublin Core)
Type (Dublin Core)
Audio Interview
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
English
Health & Wellness
English
Clothing & Accessories
English
Public Health & Hospitals
English
Education--Universities
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
12/07/2020
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
06/30/2021
Date Created (Dublin Core)
12/07/2020
06/04/2022
Interviewer (Bibliographic Ontology)
Ashley Freeman
Interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
Nolan
Format (Dublin Core)
Audio
Language (Dublin Core)
English
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:08:05
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
Ashley Freeman 0:06
Hi, my name is Ashley Freeman. And today I'll be interviewing...Nolan, can you please state the date and the current time?
Nolan 0:17
It is the seventh of December at 6:46pm.
Ashley Freeman 0:22
And do you give consent for me to upload this interview to the COVID-19 Archives website?
Nolan 0:28
I do.
Ashley Freeman 0:30
Alright, so first off, how is your opinion of this class changed since you first started taking it? And if it hasn't changed, why?
Nolan 0:41
Um, I think my opinions changed a lot. Because going into it, I thought it was really cool that we would be able to take a course about pandemics while we were living in one. That's definitely remained the case. And I think as my knowledge of pandemics has evolved, my interactions with the class has as well. And so I feel like the more we learn about pandemics, the more it feels like we're being told the same thing, because a lot repeats over them. So it's more about making connections now, I think, instead of just learning about things that happened in the past.
Ashley Freeman 1:20
That's really interesting. Because when I first found out that our class was called, like, or pandemics, like, I was like, Oh, my God, like, I don't want to hear about pandemics anymore. And I don't know, I started off with like a really negative, my point of view on the class. But like, I definitely changed for me because it's so much more interesting. And actually, it's like my favorite class right now. All right. And did you find this course helpful in putting COVID-19 into context in terms of how it compares to past pandemics?
Nolan 1:56
Yeah, I definitely did. I think there's just there's a lot of factors, whether it's, you know, the discrimination that comes along with every pandemic, or the way we've responded to different pandemics, it's pretty obvious now that there's, there's so many similarities. And I think that's kind of history in general, as you look at the past to see what's, what might happen in the future, how you can learn from it. And when you see all these patterns, between you know, pandemics in the past, you start to notice how they're kind of similar to what you're dealing with today. And I think that really helps understand what we're going through and understand what it's going to be like even in the future, how will continue to evolve from it. And it's something a lot of people, you know, obviously don't know, because they're not taught what's happened in the past. And it just provides a much better perspective towards what we're going through.
Ashley Freeman 2:48
That's great. And on that same topic of parallels, which pandemic do you think had the most similarities with COVID-19? And through these parallels, do you think that we've learned at all from our previous pandemics?
Nolan 3:03
That's a good question. I would say probably the 1919 influenza pandemic.
Ashley Freeman 3:12
I agree.
Nolan 3:12
Seems to be the most similar. Because, you know, it wasn't, it killed a lot of people, but it wasn't as deadly as some other pandemics. And I think because of that it was more widespread.
Ashley Freeman 3:25
Yeah.
Nolan 3:26
Like the Coronavirus. And it seems like it was modern enough that a lot of responses are near identical to today. They were working on vaccines, [unintelligible] struggled with that. Even mass and, objections, you know, science.
Ashley Freeman 3:43
Exactly.
Nolan 3:44
Denial, which is also a big con, part is people ignore science or what's suggested by intelligence, intelligentsia, they'll ignore that. I think that's a really big thing that's in common. And then the other thing is that the whole world is kind of going through it together. So it's not it's not just Europe, Asia.
Ashley Freeman 4:07
Definitely.
Nolan 4:08
Everybody during both those times are going through the pandemics together. And it's clear that responses have not been global. In both cases, which has been...
Ashley Freeman 4:19
Yeah, if you were to ask me the same question, I would have said the same exact thing. Yeah, the parallels that we learned in this class have just been, I think that's what made it so interesting. I didn't think that we'd have so many, like, things in common with previous pandemics. And it's kind of scary to think about how similar some things are even though it's been like 100 years since. So, I think it really says a lot about humanity and our world. And so, as you mentioned, like mass objections. That's definitely just like being cooperative is definitely an aspect humans have to work on.
Nolan 5:00
Yeah.
Ashley Freeman 5:01
And like on that same like line, like, why do you think there were countries that were able to contain COVID-19 much better than others?
Nolan 5:12
I think I think there's a few different things. And I think all countries have done in a few different ways. So, for example, with more totalitarian countries, or countries with more control, like China, especially like North Korea, they've been able to completely shut down their borders, you know, lock people in their houses. And it's a more extreme response, but it's obviously more effective. And when you live in a country with a lot more different protections, at least different protections, kind of change the way you're able to respond as a country, which has its pros and cons. So that's one way I think, is using more power to keep people in their homes, keep them apart, imposing harsher penalties when they can't do that. And then the other thing, I think, is super important, and it's just another approach. Countries like New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, it's just about education is a big one and keeping the community, making sure they understand what's going on and encouraging them to actually want to help. And part of its, you know, fear of having them be scared of the pandemic because then they'll respond in a better way. But with...
Ashley Freeman 6:35
That's really interesting.
Nolan 6:36
...have, you have everybody who's, everybody's wearing masks, everybody's social distancing because nobody wants to catch coronavirus. And you can tell now that those measures when everybody is used them, it's worked out well for those countries.
Ashley Freeman 6:53
Yeah, definitely. Okay, I'm wrapping up soon. What are some things that you'll keep in mind during the next pandemic, that you learned during this one? And what advice do you have for people who will live through another one, or are going to live through one for the first time?
Nolan 7:12
Well, hopefully we never have to answer that, you know, live through another pandemic. But it's pretty much inevitable that it will happen eventually. So for people who are going through another pandemic, I think, recognizing the mistakes you've made in the past, which is something we've done to an extent, not enough and further learning. Really, it's about I think, coming together as a global community, and working together to solve the problem, as well as encouraging honesty, and just being open about what's going on so that you can solve the problem is probably the biggest one. If you do have a pandemic.
Ashley Freeman 7:59
I totally agree. Okay, thank you so much, Nolan.
Nolan 8:03
Thank you.
Hi, my name is Ashley Freeman. And today I'll be interviewing...Nolan, can you please state the date and the current time?
Nolan 0:17
It is the seventh of December at 6:46pm.
Ashley Freeman 0:22
And do you give consent for me to upload this interview to the COVID-19 Archives website?
Nolan 0:28
I do.
Ashley Freeman 0:30
Alright, so first off, how is your opinion of this class changed since you first started taking it? And if it hasn't changed, why?
Nolan 0:41
Um, I think my opinions changed a lot. Because going into it, I thought it was really cool that we would be able to take a course about pandemics while we were living in one. That's definitely remained the case. And I think as my knowledge of pandemics has evolved, my interactions with the class has as well. And so I feel like the more we learn about pandemics, the more it feels like we're being told the same thing, because a lot repeats over them. So it's more about making connections now, I think, instead of just learning about things that happened in the past.
Ashley Freeman 1:20
That's really interesting. Because when I first found out that our class was called, like, or pandemics, like, I was like, Oh, my God, like, I don't want to hear about pandemics anymore. And I don't know, I started off with like a really negative, my point of view on the class. But like, I definitely changed for me because it's so much more interesting. And actually, it's like my favorite class right now. All right. And did you find this course helpful in putting COVID-19 into context in terms of how it compares to past pandemics?
Nolan 1:56
Yeah, I definitely did. I think there's just there's a lot of factors, whether it's, you know, the discrimination that comes along with every pandemic, or the way we've responded to different pandemics, it's pretty obvious now that there's, there's so many similarities. And I think that's kind of history in general, as you look at the past to see what's, what might happen in the future, how you can learn from it. And when you see all these patterns, between you know, pandemics in the past, you start to notice how they're kind of similar to what you're dealing with today. And I think that really helps understand what we're going through and understand what it's going to be like even in the future, how will continue to evolve from it. And it's something a lot of people, you know, obviously don't know, because they're not taught what's happened in the past. And it just provides a much better perspective towards what we're going through.
Ashley Freeman 2:48
That's great. And on that same topic of parallels, which pandemic do you think had the most similarities with COVID-19? And through these parallels, do you think that we've learned at all from our previous pandemics?
Nolan 3:03
That's a good question. I would say probably the 1919 influenza pandemic.
Ashley Freeman 3:12
I agree.
Nolan 3:12
Seems to be the most similar. Because, you know, it wasn't, it killed a lot of people, but it wasn't as deadly as some other pandemics. And I think because of that it was more widespread.
Ashley Freeman 3:25
Yeah.
Nolan 3:26
Like the Coronavirus. And it seems like it was modern enough that a lot of responses are near identical to today. They were working on vaccines, [unintelligible] struggled with that. Even mass and, objections, you know, science.
Ashley Freeman 3:43
Exactly.
Nolan 3:44
Denial, which is also a big con, part is people ignore science or what's suggested by intelligence, intelligentsia, they'll ignore that. I think that's a really big thing that's in common. And then the other thing is that the whole world is kind of going through it together. So it's not it's not just Europe, Asia.
Ashley Freeman 4:07
Definitely.
Nolan 4:08
Everybody during both those times are going through the pandemics together. And it's clear that responses have not been global. In both cases, which has been...
Ashley Freeman 4:19
Yeah, if you were to ask me the same question, I would have said the same exact thing. Yeah, the parallels that we learned in this class have just been, I think that's what made it so interesting. I didn't think that we'd have so many, like, things in common with previous pandemics. And it's kind of scary to think about how similar some things are even though it's been like 100 years since. So, I think it really says a lot about humanity and our world. And so, as you mentioned, like mass objections. That's definitely just like being cooperative is definitely an aspect humans have to work on.
Nolan 5:00
Yeah.
Ashley Freeman 5:01
And like on that same like line, like, why do you think there were countries that were able to contain COVID-19 much better than others?
Nolan 5:12
I think I think there's a few different things. And I think all countries have done in a few different ways. So, for example, with more totalitarian countries, or countries with more control, like China, especially like North Korea, they've been able to completely shut down their borders, you know, lock people in their houses. And it's a more extreme response, but it's obviously more effective. And when you live in a country with a lot more different protections, at least different protections, kind of change the way you're able to respond as a country, which has its pros and cons. So that's one way I think, is using more power to keep people in their homes, keep them apart, imposing harsher penalties when they can't do that. And then the other thing, I think, is super important, and it's just another approach. Countries like New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, it's just about education is a big one and keeping the community, making sure they understand what's going on and encouraging them to actually want to help. And part of its, you know, fear of having them be scared of the pandemic because then they'll respond in a better way. But with...
Ashley Freeman 6:35
That's really interesting.
Nolan 6:36
...have, you have everybody who's, everybody's wearing masks, everybody's social distancing because nobody wants to catch coronavirus. And you can tell now that those measures when everybody is used them, it's worked out well for those countries.
Ashley Freeman 6:53
Yeah, definitely. Okay, I'm wrapping up soon. What are some things that you'll keep in mind during the next pandemic, that you learned during this one? And what advice do you have for people who will live through another one, or are going to live through one for the first time?
Nolan 7:12
Well, hopefully we never have to answer that, you know, live through another pandemic. But it's pretty much inevitable that it will happen eventually. So for people who are going through another pandemic, I think, recognizing the mistakes you've made in the past, which is something we've done to an extent, not enough and further learning. Really, it's about I think, coming together as a global community, and working together to solve the problem, as well as encouraging honesty, and just being open about what's going on so that you can solve the problem is probably the biggest one. If you do have a pandemic.
Ashley Freeman 7:59
I totally agree. Okay, thank you so much, Nolan.
Nolan 8:03
Thank you.
Item sets
This item was submitted on December 7, 2020 by Ashley Freeman using the form “Share Your Story” on the site “A Journal of the Plague Year”: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive
Click here to view the collected data.