Historiography and Covid-19. Some considerations

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the interest of public opinion and historians in epidemics and infectious diseases. These topics have been often overlooked by the “general” history, receiving attention only in the history of medicine, but from the beginning of the pandemic the interest has soared. Historians have participated in the media debate and have wondered how history can be helpful to cope with the current emergency. Answering this question is, of course, difficult and subjective. Speaking very broadly, the numerous epidemics that have affected mankind over the centuries feature significant similarities, mainly in regard to social behaviour, but history cannot be viewed as a handbook providing answers and solutions to the present problems. In any case, in the current pandemic history is all but useless, as it helps to understand social dynamics and peculiarities. The paper first proposes a short summary of the contributions made by historians to the understanding and the study of the current pandemic; then, it briefly examines the main recurring elements in the history of epidemics; finally, it addresses the question of the “usefulness” of history in the present emergency.