Fatigue, pushback, new mandates, another surge, infections rising, difficult decisions, special interests involved, and no clear end in sight—does this sound familiar? While that summary might fit for winter 2021–22, it also describes the pandemic winter of 1918–19. How did the 1918 pandemic end and become "endemic," as the seasonal flu that we know today? Are there historical developments and clues that might help us move forward in this moment? Join Oregon State University History Professor Christopher McKnight Nichols as he discusses how the COVID-19 Omicron surge has made lessons from the 1918 influenza pandemic all the more relevant. 

Copresented by WorldOregon and the Oregon Historical Society

Christopher McKnight Nichols teaches history at Oregon State University. Nichols is Director of the Oregon State University Center for the Humanities. He founded OSU’s Citizenship and Crisis Initiative. Nichols specializes in the history of the United States and its relationship to the rest of the world, particularly in the areas of isolationism, internationalism, and globalization. In 2016 Nichols was awarded an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. In 2017 Nichols became an Organization of American Historians (OAH) Distinguished Lecturer. Nichols’ 2018 TED Talk is entitled “The Untold Story of American Isolationism” (aka “Why History Matters Today”). A past OSU Professor of the Year, Nichols was named 2021 Sandy and Elva Sanders Eminent Professor in the OSU Honors College. Dr. Nichols is the author, co-author, or editor of six books, including Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age and the recently published Rethinking American Grand Strategy.