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This website was made by Sean Loughran in collaboration with Research Librarians Adrianna Martinez and Chrissy O'Grady for the Sojourner Truth Library at the State University of New York at New Paltz. The idea for a comparative history came from observations of the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic and then an examination into the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 to see what similarities could be found. The results of this research culminated in the three exhibits available on this site. The primary goal of this comparative history is to leave any visitors with an enhanced awareness of how history tends to rhyme and the lessons that can be learned from examining similar trends and happenings from the events of two pandemics within the United States. Hopefully, this newfound or enhanced awareness will make observers think critically about the past and apply it to the present and future.
Hello! My name is Sean Loughran and I am a Senior at the State University of New York at New Paltz who is double majoring in History and English. I began this project in January of 2021 and observing the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic around me. Initially, my research began by wanting to see what the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 was like over a century ago in the United States, and whether there were any parallels or lessons to be learned for people in the present. Ultimately, I found many parallels, both good and bad, as well as an abundance of lessons to be learned. I hope to continue doing more historical research in the future and I hope any and all visitors leave the exhibits with a yearning to think of even more ways to apply lessons from the past to the present.