The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our personal and professional lives in ways few of us imagined mere months ago. We now work remotely as university instruction has gone online and travel has been indefinitely postponed. Graduate students, too, have been impacted by these unprecedented global events—degree milestones are conducted online, archival and library access is curtailed, and networking events are limited to the virtual realm.
In response to COVID-19, the Southern Historical Association's Graduate Student Council is launching a new series of blog posts about research, teaching, and living under the shadow of the pandemic. Graduate school can be lonely and isolating under the best of circumstances and, for many, the pandemic has exacerbated these feelings. While we are sheltering in place, this new blog series provides a forum for graduate students to discuss a diverse array of personal and professional experiences, reminding us that we are not alone and our community endures.