Author: Michael Schultz

Michael’s Week 7 Reflection

Michael Schultz on

My collection of items is not what I originally thought it would be. My goal with my collection was to try and capture the stories of the strangers in society, to prevent them from being lost. I thought it best to focus on marginalized groups, such as immigrants, homeless, disabled, and exiled, however, this proved to be more challenging than I anticipated. Over the course of the term instead of finding these stories, I encountered other stories such as more overarching trends in communities whether it was chalk art or Minecraft servers. Additionally, I never imagined I would interview so many people and collect their stories, however, it is their experiences that make up the largest portion of the collection. Even though most of these stories do not deal with the marginalization and strangeness that I was seeking, they still reveal a strangeness in the world we live in and their desire to share it. Each individual I interviewed, connected their experiences to a broader impact of the pandemic, however, their description of the trend was still unique to them. Lastly I have found several editorials which describe the strangers and how the pandemic has impacted them.

As these weeks have progressed and even more so this past week, I have felt that the direction of my project is natural and is the best way I can help capture the pandemic. During Wednesday’s class when Kathleen Peralta came in to speak about the importance of narrowing in a project rather than trying to capture everything. I found this message to be powerful and I realized I had been trying to capture many different experiences but instead I should have accepted my role as a historical interpreter and let myself capture the stories of a much smaller group. For my group especially it was more difficult for us to agree on a direction, because we each had our own goals in mind and a specific direction we wanted to take our project. Even though we tried to compromise and broaden our topic range, our goals are loosely grouped together, however, our items are more similar than I think any of us expected.

I am happy with the work I have achieved, especially with the stories I have recorded, which all provide some fascinating insights. For the next two weeks I hope to finalize my items and post all of the interviews as well as possibly conduct a few more, but those are up in the air. I am hoping to include a few more editorials, however, I want these to be focused on a particular group. Lastly, as a group I hope we will interview each other about this experience and if not I may include my a document of my own thoughts and experiences during a pandemic. Self reflection is needed alongside the compiling of other people’s experiences. I am happy with the direction the archive has taken and I can not wait to see how it is finalized over these next two weeks.

Michael’s Introduction

Michael Schultz on

Hello, my fellow quarantiners, my name is Michael and I am a sophomore History and PoliSci double major, from the land of the potatoes (Boise Idaho).  I am still unsure what I want to focus on within the discipline of History, however, I am particularly interested in Political and Intellectual European History. My connection to public history started during my senior year of high school when I volunteered at the Boise Old Idaho Penitentiary. During my time at the penitentiary, I served as an assistant curator for weapons collection, where I spent most of my time talking to visitors and organizing some of the records of the penitentiary. This is my first term taking Historians for Hire and I couldn’t be happier to finally take the class, even though I thought I would be working on a completely different project. I am thrilled to be part of this great team recording these chaotic times.

Currently, I am quarantined in Idaho. This experience has shaken my understanding of the world and left me feeling like a stranger in this new world. Idaho has been relatively lightly hit by the pandemic; however, a 6.5 earthquake rocked the state on March 31st. Luckily nobody was injured but the experience has left an even deeper sense of loss of familiarity with the world. I am interested in exploring how the pandemic is affecting the strangers amongst us and especially the people who are exiled and have no place to call home. I am purposely using the word stranger to illuminate the struggle these people face and how society purposely limits their freedom. There are many different types of strangers, however, I am planning more so to limit my conversation on refugees, asylum seekers, and people with disabilities. The strangers within our communities are significantly impacted by the pandemic, and if we do not highlight their struggles and challenges, we would be allowing their stories to disappear into the yawning mouth of time.

I hope to include a wide range of mediums that will convey the tales of strangers and exiles. I believe a diversity of these mediums is key in capturing the full extent of the crisis we are all living through. Only by preserving these stories of the strangers can we preserve their memory and learn from their experiences.