HIST231 - Archives and Afterlives of Slavery

What is an archive? How do archives shape the narratives that we can construct about the past? What are the ethical demands of engaging with archives produced by histories of violence? In recent years, historians of Atlantic slavery have begun to reflect on a set of problems related to the historical archive and their implications for writing histories of the enslaved and dispossessed. Often referred to as the “archival turn” in slavery studies, this renewed attention to the archive has resulted in a robust and ongoing exchange between the fields of history, black feminist thought, and archival theory. In particular, this scholarship has conceived of historical research as an embodied, affective encounter with the archive. This course maps the contours of this multidisciplinary discussion, guiding us through a conversation between history, anthropology, and literary studies to consider the archive as a site of both limit and possibility. Students will learn how considerations of the archive and the politics of knowledge shape historical method as they analyze and practice different forms of historical storytelling.