My work so far has focused on two main themes: positivity within communities and personal testimonies on COVID-19’s impact on individuals’ personal relationships and connections. I believe these mini interviews/testimonies best match with the statements and goals underlined in the Value of History document. Listed in this article are seven ways in which history is relevant and significant. One point provided is that history can engage citizens by encouraging an understanding of the past and allowing active participation in the documentation of the present. I believe my mini interviews have allowed individuals to recognize their position in history as future primary sources, realizing the impact that they have on the legacy of this pandemic. The article also mentions that democracy thrives on the multitude of these conversations as complexities start to reveal themselves and supersede generalizations. In other words, by actively encouraging individuals to tell their story and reaffirming their place in history, different perspectives and ideas are documented. As a result, the legacy of COVID-19 will be very rich and nuanced and hopefully will encourage future civic engagement as well! At first, I struggled to find people who were willing to engage in this project. Possibly, there was confusion over the goals of archiving or what should be documented. It was hard to try and promote the concept of shared authority when no one seemed active and ready to share. I knew I could rely on things I came across, but I wanted to capture another’s story. I learned that sometimes it just takes asking for five minutes of someone’s time to get the ball rolling.
Natalie Lafferty
I love how you articulate one of our common challenges: ” It was hard to try and promote the concept of shared authority when no one seemed active and ready to share.” That just puts it into a nutshell! I am glad you have had the resilience to stick with your game plan and just keep at it. I am hopeful that we now have enough diverse material in the archive that people can understand the shape of the project as a whole, and their potential places in it.