A Blend of Absurdism and Humanism: Defending Kurt Vonnegut’s Place in the Secondary Setting

This essay argues that Kurt Vonnegut blends a unique humanist stance into his absurdist plots and characters, ultimately urging readers to confront the absurd with a kindness and human decency his protagonists often find rare. As a result of this absurd and humanist synthesis, I defend and promote Vonnegut’s place in the secondary English curriculum, despite his rank on many banned books lists, since his characters’ journeys correlate thematically with the growth and process of postmodern adolescents and encourage moral responsibility without sentimental manipulation. Focusing on Cat’s Cradle, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, and Slaughterhouse-Five as primary sources, specifically for Vonnegut’s view of their success and their more frequent use in the secondary setting, I explore Vonnegut’s unique postmodern style. Using personal and recorded interviews as well as literary scholarship, I attempt to forge a new outlook on the connection between Vonnegut and adolescent learners. His protagonists struggle with the same philosophical questions that adolescents are beginning to ponder as they develop their ability to think abstractly. I argue that Vonnegut’s moral response to these questions will provide students with a framework from which they may begin to formulate their own answers in a universe they cannot control. Vonnegut’s novels strive to better humanity, and in teaching our youngest generations how he sought to do so may better the society in which we exist together

Sentinel Surveillance System Implementation and Evaluation for SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Data, Washington, USA, 2020–2021

Genomic data provides useful information for public health practice, particularly when combined with epidemiologic data. However, sampling bias is a concern because inferences from nonrandom data can be misleading. In March 2021, the Washington State Department of Health, USA, partnered with submitting and sequencing laboratories to establish sentinel surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 genomic data. We analyzed available genomic and epidemiologic data during presentinel and sentinel periods to assess representativeness and timeliness of availability. Genomic data during the presentinel period was largely unrepresentative of all COVID-19 cases. Data available during the sentinel period improved representativeness for age, death from COVID-19, outbreak association, long-term care facility–affiliated status, and geographic coverage; timeliness of data availability and captured viral diversity also improved. Hospitalized cases were underrepresented, indicating a need to increase inpatient sampling. Our analysis emphasizes the need to understand and quantify sampling bias in phylogenetic studies and continue evaluation and improvement of public health surveillance systems