WEEK IX

(coughs) I’m in Danger.

As Tony Horwitz and Robert Lee Hodge explored monuments to one of the darkest times in American history, the Civil War, in chapter 10 of Confederates in the Attic, my mind wandered to the current dark moment in history, COVID-19. It is hard to think about much else as I post this from a dorm room littered with moving boxes. It is one of those unique moments when I can tangibly feel history being made; the illness, college closures, and event cancellations will undoubtedly find a place in future history books. 

Much like the hitchhikers who got more than they bargained for getting into Hodge and Horwitz’s car and subsequently joining their ‘Civil Wargasm’ road trip, the Coronavirus is like a ride on which many would rather not go. 

Not to make an insensitive comparison, but I imagine many Americans at the time of the Civil War felt similarly regarding their own circumstances. Maybe their lives were not particularly dependent on whether they were governed by the Union or the Confederacy, but the war was despised for compromising the very foundation of freedom that defines the United States. I hope to be able to maintain this role of an inconvenienced outsider in the COVID War, but the effects on my freedom to go to college are already causing me to develop a more personal loathing for the virus. 

I imagine Hodge’s ‘Wargasm’ would have been canceled this spring as spending a week traveling around the country in an unwashed Civil War uniform, sleeping outside, and eating near ancient pork fat sounds like a surer way to get the Rona than licking a door handle in Milan. In this uncertain time of restricted travel, it is critical to think about adapting history for digital engagement when trips like these are made impossible. 

As classes, meetings, and jobs, move online, it is questionable as to what museums and historic sites will do amidst the chaos. Even if they remain open, tourism will be very minimal through the spring and summer, the most important seasons for these sites in the US. The only sites which remain safe for travel are websites.

In these times, the blog and online exhibit projects for this Public History class become infinitely more relevant. The experience I have gained writing (and drawing) for this blog has already claimed a spot on my resume as the ability to curate content for a digital audience is an important skill for Public Historians today. With the spread of the virus, the ‘Civil Wargasm’ road trip would now contain a more authentic element of danger, but dying of Coronavirus is something even a Hardcore like Hodge would not risk. For a while, the only way to view artifacts and learn about history will be via the internet, so it is the historian’s job to ensure that a wealth of historical content is available online. 

This blog is one of the few assignments immune to the impact of the Coronapocolypse. Welcome to a foretaste of the future of digital history.