Chronicling a Crisis: SUNY Oneonta's Pandemic Diaries

Abstract

Ann Traitor and Matthew Hendley from the Department of History, Darren Chase, the Dean of the Library, and Ed Beck, an Instructional Designer from the Faculty Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship, present their book, Chronicling a Crisis: SUNY Oneonta’s Pandemic Diaries. Inspired by the UK’s Mass Observation Project from the 1930s, the authors aimed to capture a community’s collective memory through blog entries submitted by students, faculty, and staff. Acting as observation caretakers, they recognized the significance of preserving the immediate words and reflections of living through a historic time. In reflecting on this project, the authors emphasize how memory is shaped over time and how these collected narratives offer an alternative way to understand history. Themes emerging from the blog entries reveal profound changes: the journeys we thought we were taking versus the journeys we find ourselves on now.