The Coronavirus Days is a collaboration between a historian and the Indiana University Archives based on the observation of the historic time we are living. Historians of the future will want to know how we spent our days during the pandemics. What wwasere the local, lived experience of a global pandemic and rapid political and social change from day to day and week to week? In the spirit of documenting this moment, the University Archives invited people to keep a diary of living through the crisis in Indiana. Diarists could type or write by hand, draw, compose poems, gather stories, and so forth. No stress was placed on “good grammar,” spelling, or style. The emphasis was on self-expression, candor, and a willingness to be a social commentator. The project was inspired by the history of Mass Observation. Since March 2020, events and experiences were changing by the day; they were specific to the participants, their families, friends, and communities.
Explore the Humanities pathways that led to this project
Bloomington, Indiana, USA