Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis - Volume 137, Issue 2, 2024

Abstract How teleological thinking survived the pandemic This essay starts from the observation that historians have remarkably uncritically followed the biopolitical logic behind the approach to the Covid-19 pandemic. It explores why our knowledge and understanding of the historical background thereof did not prevent most from going along with the idea that there was no alternative to it. I argue that historians too w Read More

Abstract Universal experiences? This reflection examines the sedimented layer of experiences arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and how they foster heightened empathy, benefiting the hermeneutic tradition and, specifically, the history of experience. But there are also challenges. The pandemic has created a deeper connection between the present and the past, generating feelings of universality and shared experienc Read More

Abstract Social inequality in a highly mobile world. A post-Covid, historical perspective on everyday mobility The Covid pandemic profoundly disrupted global and local mobility patterns. Commuting, a practice that has become increasingly common over the past century, suddenly stopped for many people. At the same time people in certain professions were forced to remain mobile, risky as that was. This raises questions a Read More

Abstract Conspiracy theories and misinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic. New phenomenon or historical recurrence? The coronavirus pandemic caused, in addition to its immediate demographic consequences, a high degree of social unrest. This unrest was intensified by the global spread of misinformation about the disease, primarily through the use of social media and the Internet. As early as February 2020, the Read More

Abstract Navigating the complexities of the Covid-19 pandemic In this contribution, we discuss from the perspective of historical demography how the corona pandemic has led to new research themes and different approaches to existing themes. Examples include the effect of pandemics on social inequalities in mortality and fertility in the short as well as the long run. The corona pandemic has given historical-demographic re Read More

Abstract Corona collections in museums and archives. Observations and recommendations on contemporary collecting Shortly after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, museums and archives worldwide started to document and ‘collect’ daily life, often with help of the public, to safeguard the ‘historical present’ for the future. In this contribution, we investigate ‘Covid-19 heritage collections’ as a form of contemporary colle Read More

Abstract ‘Help I am infected’. The illusion of an intelligent Dutch lockdown On March 16, 2020, Prime Minister Rutte announced that the government was forced to switch from a strategy of local containment of outbreaks to a national strategy of maximum control. A week later, the first ‘intelligent’ national lockdown became a reality. In this contribution I will show that in the historical interaction between disease, health a Read More