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The Australian Bushfires of 2020 became the costliest and most damaging disaster in Australian history. The scientific community largely agreed that climate change had a significant impact on it (Fountain, 2020). Despite this objective truth, climate reform is prevented by the fossil fuel lobby. It would be beneficial for historians to shift the constructivist narrative to one that studies how a locus of power seeks to influence objective truth (Tonkin, 1995). -
The recession following the onset of Covid-19 restriction caused an economic shock that was felt by all. However, the recovery was uneven across the socioeconomic spectrum. A V-Shaped recovery started in April. The richest quickly regained lost wealth while the middle class continued to suffer greatly(Kent, 2020). This inequity, along with other long term trends, points to a growing relevance of Marxist history to account for increasing class tensions (Hobsbawm, 1984). -
The death of George Floyd caused a massive uproar that resulted in protests against racism across the globe. However, the demonstrations soon became a battleground for a race/ culture war for groups losing power to long term demographic changes (Moreno, 2020). As these trends continue, emphasizing culture and socialization will become crucial for historians to understand the social divisions (Sewell, 2005). -
On September 29th, 2020, the world reached one million Covid-19 deaths. Such a milestone is tragic and its effects will be long lasting (Foster, 2020). One million deaths is difficult to wrap one's head around. In order to fully understand the human dimensions behind the statistics, historians must place increased emphasis on narrative storytelling. Doing so will allow people to understand what it was truly like for individuals to live in during the age of Covid-19 (Kuhn, 1962). -
After the election the US was living in two realities. One believed the election had been fair, the other stolen. The capitol rioters were acting on the false reality of a stolen election and stormed the capitol (Post, 2021). They and their actions were products of their echo chambers. It is increasingly important for historians to return to a more structuralist model where humans have less agency, in order to take into account the changes in socialization brought by digital media (Stone, 1979). -
The old political consensus rested on a skepticism behind government. The postmodern era was born from this political era in the dawn of the digital revolution that saw unparalleled innovation. Biden's stimulus package was one of the largest in US history and was very popular. This marked the end of the neoliberal consensus (Tharoor, 2021). Historiography must evolve past the outdated political notions of the Reagan era to fit political realities of the post 2020 world (Appleby, 1995).