Bankfoot House Re-opened

Bankfoot House, the Sunshine Coast’s state heritage-listed house museum, will reopen its doors again on Friday, June 19 to welcome locals and visitors to this historic property in the Glass House Mountains. The reopening follows the Queensland Government Stage 2 easing of COVID-19 restrictions. Read full story here.

Irish COVID-19 Project

Dublin City University has today launched the Irish COVID-19 Oral History Project. It focuses on orally archiving the Irish lived experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, for historical purposes. Led by Caitriona Ni Cassaithe and Professor Theo Lynn, the project will curate a collection of oral histories, detailing the Irish experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and how Irish communities are living through it, both at home and abroad. The findings are intended to be used by historians, researchers and policymakers in years to come to inform responses to future pandemics. It was inspired by work being undertaken by Prof Jason Kelly (IUPUI) on the US-based COVID-19 Oral History Project, a partner project of A Journal of the Plague Year, and efforts are being coordinated with the IUPUI project. For full story click here.

COVID-19 stories (USA)

“We’re living through history. Just as we pore over photographs and narratives of people in the past, those in the future will be curious about what we’re doing right now, sheltered at home or on the front lines. We may have a responsibility to document our experiences, even if just for our own descendants.” This story about historical societies in USA are collecting items and voices about COVID-19, read more here.

More institutions in USA collecting for COVID-19 here. Also a document, COVID-19 capsule, which can be downloaded and completed for children and adults here.

Teachers and Oral History

“History happens every day in every place. Whether it be a bill passing in the halls of Congress or a television program playing in your living room, it all counts as the great and messy drama of the human experience, worthy of historical consideration. Yet given the current global crisis in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are acutely aware of “history happening” in this particular moment, especially as New York City occupies the epicenter of the virus in the United States. Historians of the future will no doubt spend countless hours and pages analyzing the pandemic’s impact on politics, economics, and daily life—and we’re living right through this watershed moment.” Read more of this story and follow links here, some of which may be applied to Australian classrooms.

Corona Diaries

“Members of the 2019 Nieman group have launched a platform for audio stories from around the world about how people are coping with the coronavirus pandemic. Few people’s lives are untouched by the coronavirus pandemic and, as the world continues to grapple with the health, social, and financial implications of the crisis, everyone has a story to tell about these unprecedented times.” Read full story here and follow the link to the website to tell your own story, or go straight to the website here.

National Library & COVID-19

“In the 101 years since the ‘Spanish Flu’, the world has changed. Penicillin has been discovered, there has been a second World War and technological advancements have seen man walk on the moon and a device created that fits in your pocket that contains most of the knowledge known to the world. This device has increased the number of people with access to breaking news and largely changed the way it is consumed. It also means that the way we record history has changed. Gone are the days where the printed daily newspaper was the single source of truth. Now, people turn to websites and social media for to-the-minute updates on developing situations, like COVID-19.” Read full story here.