In the Spring of 2021, students in LIBR 588: Theory and Practice of Oral History developed an online oral history exhibit of people’s experiences during the year 2020 entitled the 2020 (Re)Collection. The COVID-19 pandemic massively impacted the lives of people around the globe, from essential service workers and artists to home cooks, families, and youth activists. The pandemic also changed the way classes were taught, with the entire course being facilitated online via Zoom. Students were given the opportunity to develop their own oral history project within the context of 2020. Five groups interviewed, transcribed, and published oral histories of friends, family, and acquaintances around the following topics: Essential Work, At Home in 2020, Youth and Activism, Food as Resistance, and Performing in Lockdown.

Read the introduction to the project here, and check out the recorded interviews and transcripts here.