As an art history student, I feel that I’m obliged to reflect upon my responsibilities in light of the pandemic. So far 2020 has been a bizarre year, the idea of “crisis” has in a way, become the texture of our living. I wonder what role should humanities scholars carry on to engage with the present. As the waves of environmental crisis, the coronavirus, the political-economic crisis hit the underlying (probably historical problems), what are some of the important questions we can raise, in the academic field as well as dressing the generic public?
Good question. I don't think most historians think about this very much. Not because it's unimportant or because historians are slackers, but because historians already have their heads stuck in some other time/place. It also doesn't come up very often. History doesn't often talk about the normal, boring day-to-day lives of average people (unfortunately). History tends to concern itself with larger issues, so for the most part we don't think about today as history under 'normal' circumstances. And if we do think about it we just call it "news" and move along.
But these are not normal times, as you mentioned. However, I think there's still a tendency among historians to think something along the lines of "What does the pandemic have to do with 13th century China?". I guess my point is that historians rarely 'do history' in a generalist kind of way. Like most other fields, history has specialization, and so most historians have a relatively narrow focus and can't really just slap history onto whatever comes along.
All that being said, there is a line I find myself repeating often these days, usually when someone talks about how unprecedented our current lives are and how inexplicable and confusing life seems these days: "This is what History looks like from the inside."