A History of Now

Meg Foster,Mark Finnane,Carolyn Fraser,Hollie Pich,Peter Hobbins,Toni Burton

doi:10.5130/phrj.v27i0.7542

Abstract

The connection between history and COVID-19 might appear counter-intuitive. We are used to being told by media outlets and employers, government officials and friends that we are ‘living in unprecedented times’. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the rhythms of our daily lives, but not every response to COVID-19 has been new. It has also been understood through history. This article comes from a roundtable discussion that was held as part of NSW History Week on 11 September 2020. Bringing together historians, curators and archivists, this panel explored the way that history has been used to understand COVID-19. Particular attention was paid to attempts to record and archive our experiences through the pandemic, comparisons between COVID-19 and the ‘Spanish’ flu as well as shifting understandings of temporality during the pandemic. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has ruptured our quotidian experience, it is not a moment beyond history. This panel examined how history is being used as an anchor point, a source of inspiration and an educational tool with which to tackle ‘these uncertain times’.

Highlights

This article comes from a roundtable discussion that was held as part of NSW History Week on 11 September 2020
Particular attention was paid to attempts to record and archive our experiences through the pandemic, comparisons between COVID-19 and the ‘Spanish’ flu as well as shifting understandings of temporality during the pandemic
Victoria was in the midst of a strict, state-wide lockdown after a hotel quarantine breach led to an outbreak of the virus

Summary

Introduction

This article comes from a roundtable discussion that was held as part of NSW History Week on 11 September 2020. Did people at the time feel that they were living through history in the ‘Spanish’ influenza pandemic or during any other period of crisis or rupture that we’re familiar with?

Results

Conclusion