Digital Humanities and Public History

Note from the Section Editor

The two essays in this section both concern the history of epidemics, but the authors composed and submitted these pieces before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. When reading these reviews, it will be impossible to overlook the striking connections to our current global health crisis. Furthermore, while the Smithsonian's "Outbreak" exhibition had been scheduled to remain open until 2021, potential visitors should check the opening status of the National Museum of Natural History on the Smithsonian's webpage that lists temporary museum closures: https://www.si.edu/museums. Collectively, these two reviews demonstrate how libraries and museums are interpreting topical events throughout the history of medicine and producing engaging resources that can help students and public audiences contextualize current events in a longer history.