Goal #1: How Information Spread During the 1919 Flu
This project looks closely at how newspapers and other media shaped public understanding and behavior during the 1918 influenza pandemic. It explores the ways the story of the flu was told-how headlines shifted, what messages were emphasized, and how that coverage changed as the crisis unfolded.
Goal #2: Using Digital Tools to Rethink History
A big part of the work involves blending traditional historical research with digital methods. By applying tools like tone analysis and timeline-based text segmentation, researchers can make sense of massive collections of old newspapers-revealing patterns and shifts that would be easy to miss with the naked
eye.
Goal #3: Connecting Past and Present
By learning how information was shared during the 1918 pandemic, the project offers valuable insights into how we communicate during health emergencies today. It helps us reflect on what kinds of public messaging work well (or don’t), and how we might better manage information during future crises like COVID-19.