The flu pandemic of 1918 was terrifying through its sheer lethality.
As we begin to emerge from social isolation into a “new normal”, much remains unknown. At this liminal moment, Monash historians and archaeologists take the opportunity to look to the past – to discover precedents for our current situation, new perspectives we might take, or even some consolation we may find in our forebears’ pathways to recovery.
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In recent months world leaders have mobilized seemingly every technological resource at their disposal to stem the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic. Evidence and scientific opinion have gained newfound respect; decision makers have arguably become better at listening to scientists and following their directives.
But the virus has also exposed social problems that, by their very nature, go beyond science: deep-rooted health and social inequalities, a fractured political response, mental health challenges associated with home confinement. All this points to systemic issues that are broader than the immediate public health emergency. Here, science still has a role to play, but it is a supporting one to the humanities and social sciences.
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Image: Thomas de LUZE /Unsplash
“…the arts and humanities are essential in understanding how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic…this is one of the things that the humanities, arts and social sciences do well. They look at the causes, and they study those implications across society and the cultural and political fields.”
Colin Elliot, assistant professor in the Indiana University Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of History recently gave a presentation on the Antonine plague and the privilege of quarantine as part of Quarantine(d) Conversations. The weekly discussions, streamed live on Facebook, feature IU arts and humanities faculty discussing research tangential to the pandemic, as well as creative projects in writing and design that address pandemic-related needs. Read more here.
Published: Indiana University website, May 12, 2020
Historian Emma Russell provides a personal account of her recent experience in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here is a Covid-19 story that thousands of small businesses like mine can now incorporate into our own business histories.
Monday, 16 March was probably the most difficult day in my twenty-year-old history and heritage consultancy business.
I had been really looking forward to travelling to Sydney and Canberra with a colleague to conduct a number of oral history interviews, which would eventually become a series of podcasts. I was going to talk to architects, carpenters, artists and others involved with a unique national project that had unfolded in the late 1970s. That gives you an idea of their likely ages today. Interstate travel, face-to-face interviews, the middle of March… you get the picture.
I had been enthusiastic and engaged in the project; researching, having preliminary discussions with some of the interviewees, learning more and more about this big 1970s project and with that, as always, coming up with more questions to ask. Many of these were to be answered the following week - or so I thought at the time.
Then, as our travel dates approached, our questions turned to ‘should we go?’, ‘what are the restrictions?’, ‘how quickly will things get worse?‘. Early on Monday the 16th I emailed everyone, following up with phone calls in case they didn’t read emails that day, to say we were putting the project into hibernation until Covid-19 had passed, and promising the project would be picked up again as soon as social isolation was over. Project expectations meant phone or zoom interviews would not have produced an adequate result and everyone agreed it was best to wait. Of course, the next thing was hours spent waiting on the phone and on crashing websites to cancel flights and accommodation. But that’s not a story I care to dwell on…
The rest of that week unfolded in much the same way as it did for thousands of other small businesses – with few or no projects left and a mix of emptiness and panic.
But while the virus has disrupted so much, it’s also set in train some amazingly quick and positive responses. While confusion reigned for weeks over what we were or weren’t allowed to do, we also saw decisions being made that would throw lifelines to small businesses, including in the history, heritage, arts, culture, and community sectors. One of these is the Victorian State Government’s Business Support Fund. I heard about this from a friend and within a week of putting in my own application I received an email saying I had been accepted and the money – $10,000 – would be in my business account soon. And it was!
So while my projects might be in hibernation and my income shaken for the next several months, I have an opportunity to think more deeply about what I do and why it’s important, and how I can ensure my business picks up again on the other side of coronavirus. The Business Support Fund is an opportunity to build resilience into your business activities. It’s the sort of ‘luxury’ opportunity that small business’ like mine rarely have. Please make the most of it.
Emma Russell
Director
History At Work
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