Exploring oral histories

Total suggested time: 60-90 minutes

As the COVID Tracking Project wound down in the early months of 2021, the organizers of the project took steps to archive essentially everything they had collected, documented and communicated over their more than year’s worth of effort. Part of that process was recording dozens of oral histories with members of the volunteer force behind the project, from the founders to the individuals who entered the data.

In these oral histories, you’ll hear first-hand about the impacts of the project – and what it meant to do this work amid the trauma of the pandemic.

On your own: CTP Archive oral histories

Suggested time: 30-45 minutes each

On their own, students should review two to three oral histories of their choice available online through the COVID Tracking Project Archive at the University of California, San Francisco Archives and Special Collections:

• 50+ oral histories from the COVID Tracking Project

As they listen, students should consider the following questions and be prepared to share their thoughts with the class:

• What roles did the subjects of your oral histories play in the COVID Tracking Project?
• What stood out or surprised you about their involvement with the project?
• How did participating in the project impact them personally?
• How did they take care of themselves during their time at the project?
• What did the end of the project mean for them?

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