Over the first half of our fall semester, my Historical Methods course (HIST-380) compiled a COVID-19 archive for Whittier College.
This course is a requirement for history majors and had been adjusted to examine the historic moment we are living in. We explored Whittier College and the impact of COVID-19 on its community by researching and using historical journals and historiographies that showed prevalence to our current situation while interpreting primary documents as evidence to offer commentary on our findings.
It was a really interesting and unique class—unlike any history course I have taken as it was geared to directly address our current state. Usually, history courses examine the past, but here we were examining the present through a historical lens while using an academic method.
We were divided into four different research pods where we focused on four different topics: transition to online learning, mental health, and two sectors of student life—one with a focus on athletics and the other through a lens of race and class. The mental health group gathered oral histories and photographs which represented the impact of quarantine on student’s mental health. The transition to the online learning group collected oral histories of both students and professors and examined how both groups have handled their transitions to online learning through syllabi, photographs, and email correspondence. The athletic division of student life focused on oral histories from different Poet athletes from the men and women’s teams, to see how the cancellation of the seasons has affected them.
My pod was student life through a lens of race and class. We examined how the pandemic has affected different minorities on campus and how Whittier College has responded. As a group, we collected visual works like a statement from @BlackAtWhittier, a photo of the Rock painted in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, the CARES Act emergency relief grant application, and a snippet from Whittier College’s 2020 virtual homecoming which had a segment on racial justice. We also included a handful of oral histories from students of color and their experiences in college while in a pandemic.
It was a really interesting class to take and to see the unique ways my classmates contributed to this somewhat daunting project. We were all a little nervous as the archive is available to the entirety of the internet and can be downloaded from anywhere in the world. We also had to present our findings to the class. Class presentations are already nerve-wracking but through a Zoom square, it’s even more difficult. I’m proud of my group’s work and the entirety of the class. I think we did a great job recording the pandemic that we are still living through and it will be a great resource for future historians.
This archive is ever-evolving and I believe a few classmates are still contributing. If you’re interested in viewing the archive, it can be found online. If you are interested in contributing to the archive please email Professor Laura McEnaney at lmcenaney@poets.whittier.edu.
