Introduction: History Episodes

This site collects “history episodes,” tiny micro-histories based on one event or phenomenon in New York State from 1917 to 1920, the years of World War I and the so-called “Spanish Flu” pandemic.

These episodes were written by students in Historian’s Craft, a course at SUNY New Paltz taught by Prof. Andrew Evans in the fall of 2021.

Students built their episodes around one primary source from a Hudson Valley newspaper or the New York Times between the years 1917 and 1920.  They then conducted research in secondary sources — scholarly articles and books — to fill in the historical context surrounding their central event and explain its significance.

The episodes collected here bring to light the lives of people that have been previously lost to history.  These micro-histories make them visible again and explore the significance of their lives.

Image:

“Medical Department – Influenza Epidemic 1918 – Masks for protection against influenza. Traffic “cop” in New York City wearing gauze mask,” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives at College Park – Archives II (College Park, MD), 45499301, image at Wikimedia Commons.