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Documenting COVID-19 in Southern Los Angeles County Collection
SPC.2020.018
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title: Documenting COVID-19 in Southern Los Angeles County Collection
Identifier/Call Number: SPC.2020.018
Physical Description:
262 digital items
Physical Description:
9.599 Gigabytes
Physical Description:
2 boxes
Date (inclusive): circa February 2020-May 2021
Abstract: This collection documents the COVID-19 pandemic as experienced by California State University, Dominguez Hills and Southern
Los Angeles County community members. This collection includes student diaries, essays, letters, blogs, digital photographs,
videos, local periodicals, and artworks. All materials in this collection are born-digital items, except for two boxes of
Daily Breeze newspaper articles which are restricted to on-site use only. Material in this collection is available to view at:
Documenting COVID-19 Collection
Physical Description: approximately 3 linear feet (2 oversize boxes) and 9.599 GB (262 digital files)
Language of Material:
English
, Spanish; Castilian
.
The Documenting COVID-19 collection (February 2020-May 2021) comprises digital photographs, diaries, artworks, and other materials
that were created and submitted by California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) students, faculty, staff, alumni,
and Southern Los Angeles County community members. The collection reflects their first-hand experiences during the COVID-19
pandemic that started in March 2020. It includes 102 diaries, essays, and letters (.pdf), 17 blog posts (.pdf), 119 digital
photographs (.jpg), 12 videos (.mp4), 1 sound recording (.mp3), 7 artworks (.pdf)(.jpg), 1 poem (pdf), and 3 periodicals (.pdf),
and two boxes of
Daily Breeze newspaper articles as of May 2021.
Diaries were written as assignments for various classes and focused on students' experience with online learning, quarantine
with their family, being an essential worker during the pandemic, as well as other changes to their daily life caused by COVID-19.
Digital photographs depict the changes to local stores, public gathering places, and signage. Many digital photographs show
people wearing masks, social distancing, and the closures of beaches and parks. The videos collected are short clips of what
interactions look like taking place at a distance, CSUDH resilience ambassador messages, a video submitted by the CSUDH Asian
and Pacific Islanders Graduation Committee regarding a virtual graduation celebration, and a video regarding the launch of
a new bachelor's degree in the Asian Pacific Studies department. Blog posts by local community members are about events and
changes that took place during the quarantine. Two periodicals describe local news events. One periodical is a study of CSUDH
students and their stress and wellbeing during quarantine. There is a single sound recording of an interview that took place
with someone who lived in a building where people were not complying with the face mask recommendation. Artwork collected
includes a coloring book created by the Queer Culture and Resource Center, as well as student collages, artwork created for
the CSUDH SLICE newsletter, and a photograph of artwork created by a faculty member in the CSUDH art department.
Coronavirus disease 2019, abbreviated as "COVID-19," was classified as a pandemic on March 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization.
California State University campuses closed and moved to virtual instruction on March 17, 2020. On March 20, 2020 Los Angeles
Mayor Eric Garcetti called for a "safer at home" order, which limited non-essential activities. Since its establishment as
a pandemic, COVID-19 has reached over 60,000,000 cases globally as of November 2020, according to the World Health Organization.
In April 2020, the Gerth Archives and Special Collections at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) began the
"Documenting COVID-19 in Southern Los Angeles County" project. The purpose of the project was to document the experiences
of CSUDH and Southern Los Angeles County community members during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide a way for community
members to share their story. The Gerth Archives and Special Collections called for submissions of photos, videos, diaries,
art, and other digital media that represented daily life during quarantine. The project welcomed submissions about a wide
array of subject matter in the context of COVID-19, including social distancing, the move to online instruction, essential
work, and other changes to life amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are no access restrictions on this collection except for one digital and various physical news articles that are restricted
to on-site use only.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
For information about citing archival material, see the
Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.
Digital materials processed by Marissa Chavez in 2020; and Karen Clemons 2021
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Material in this collection was donated by CSUDH students, staff, faculty, alumni; and Southern Los Angeles County community
members from March 2020-May 2021.
The collection is arranged in one series by submission date.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Carson (Calif.)
Glendale (Calif.)
Long Beach (Calif.)
Los Angeles (Calif.)
Los Angeles County (Calif.)
Torrance (Calif.)
COVID-19
College students
Pandemics
Ventura County (Calif.)
West Hollywood (Calif.)
Compton (Calif.)
Oakland (Calif.)
San Bernardino (Calif.)
Photographs
Diaries
Periodicals
Orange County (Calif.)
Seal Beach (Calif.)
Monterey County (Calif.)
San Jose (Calif.)
Tijuana (Baja California, Mexico)
Coronavirus infections
Quarantine
Social distance
Protest movements
Art
Blogs
Sound recordings
Video recordings
California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University and Colleges