Short Abstract:

This roundtable invites colleagues who have engaged with the Pandemic Journaling Project, a combined journaling platform and research study, to consider the potential and limitations of this platform for illuminating the lived impact of COVID-19, especially on members of vulnerable groups.

Long Abstract:

In Spring 2020, as the force and magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic became increasingly clear, an interdisciplinary team led by the roundtable organizers raced to create the Pandemic Journaling Project, a combined journaling platform and research study that lets anyone, anywhere create a weekly record of this turbulent time, in English or Spanish, using text, voice, and images. Each week, participants receive a link with one recurring question ("How has the coronavirus pandemic affected your life this week?") and a choice of questions on a range of topics - for example, the pandemic's impact on embodied experience, close relationships, work and finances, travel, or expectations for the future. Participants can download their journals via a secure website and, if they wish, give permission to share their entries on a Featured Entries page. Despite its original focus, PJP's scope has expanded to include today's reinvigorated struggles for racial justice, climate change-related wildfires, and the 2020 presidential election cycle, among other current events.

The fundamental logic of PJP is that "writing it down" not only has vital historical and social scientific significance, but also that "expressive writing" (Pennebaker 1997), or short writing exercises about one's fundamental values, "can fortify the self, [and] reduce psychological threat and stress" (Shnabel et al. 2013).

This roundtable invites colleagues in different social locations and career stages to consider the potential and limitations of the PJP -- and other forms of "expressive writing" -- for illuminating the lived impact of COVID-19, especially on members of vulnerable groups.