Article
Forum Introduction: Frailty and Strength During COVID-19
Journal of Autoethnography
(2021)
Abstract
Since the pandemic began in March of 2020, we (Tony and I) have wavered about doing a COVID-19 special issue for JoAE. It's not that we don't think it is important. It is. It's not that we didn't receive submissions. We did. It boiled down to a few important concerns. First, we are still in the midst of the pandemic. News about the pandemic breaks at least once a day. When I began this draft in November 2000 there was no vaccine. Now there are at least three vaccines in production, while the pandemic simultaneously worsens in many parts of the globe. Events are happening so fast that we are all in the process of sensemaking. Second, because we are struggling to make sense, writing retrospective evocative autoethnographies full of rich and thick descriptions is tenuous. We feared rushed autoethnographies written in the middle of a pandemic might age as well as a “Trump 2020” chant. Finally, because COVID is ubiquitous, it is exhausting. However, we also knew we needed to do something. This forum is our compromise.
Keywords
- autoethnography,
- sensemaking,
- covid,
- personal narrative
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring April 1, 2021
DOI
10.1525/joae.2021.2.2.217
Citation Information
Andrew F. Herrmann. "Forum Introduction: Frailty and Strength During COVID-19" Journal of Autoethnography (2021) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/andrew-herrmann/79/