2020 saw a perfect storm of events, both vast and intimate. It began with the COVID-19 pandemic that swept across the globe, followed by waves of racial unrest, economic distress, and political turbulence even as wildfires, hurricanes and tropical storms tore across the region. It was clear to all of us that we were living through significant historical change compressed into a short space of time. Even as December 31st passed and the year officially faded, 2020 is not over. Instead, we have begun to speak of a Long 2020, recognizing the enduring impact of this extraordinary year.
Beyond 2020 Living History is a collaborative Public History project created by the Department of History at the University of Texas at Austin. Our job as historians is to interpret the past but we also recognize that we are living through History, living in History in a way that we’re not used to. This project aims to collect the raw materials of History by providing a space to share our collective experience of the Long 2020.
The Beyond 2020 project aims to store and showcase primary sources. Based on the old notion of a time capsule stored for later generations, we aim to collect individual, electronic exhibits that together give some sense of the global, social, political, environmental, and personal fault lines of the long 2020. Each capsule consists of four images with short captions of around 60-80 words. You can see dozens of examples on our capsules page.
What would you include in your virtual time capsule to represent this moment of upheaval and change? Once you’ve decided, please submit these via our online portal which can be accessed here. You can do so with your name attached or anonymously. Please join us in sharing your experience of the Long 2020 and in contributing to a collective time capsule for future generations.
Beyond 2020 is intended as a resource for the University of Texas at Austin community. We are all living through 2020 but the pandemic has forced us apart, depriving us of communities and contact just as we attempt to process this most difficult of years. This site provides a collective space for our community to come together, to share their experiences, struggles and the things they have held onto in this uncertain time. As such submissions are limited to students, staff, faculty, and alumni of the university with a valid UT EID.
Please note that the University reserves its discretion to curate submissions. The following restrictions apply: (1) participation is limited to UT alumni and current UT community members; (2) curated posts are limited to the subject of this electronic time capsule project and off-topic and duplicate submissions will not be included; and (3) curated posts may not include content that is obscene, defamatory, or an incitement to illegal conduct, as defined in Section 13-200 Chapter 13, Appendix C, of the Institutional Rules.
