EGMT 1520: Reading Archival Methodologies

How do we know what we think we know? Reading Archives will examine traditional methodologies of understanding historic moments, places and events. Students will be able to analyze how histories have been preserved and are represented. This work will often reveal voices who have been historically silenced—leading to conversations of systemic oppression and lack of accessibility to marginalized communities. These discussions will lead the class to uncover ways to research and explore non-traditional archives. Methods in this class will expand beyond traditional archives such as exhibits, museums, archival collections, and historical societies to non-traditional archives such as graves, monuments, tours, and descendant videos. Critical conversations surrounding the benefits and limitations of archives in regard to equity are necessary in understanding the continued social and political impacts of research methodologies. We will address how non-traditional archives can be used as an as an equitable resource to recover histories of a place steeped in violence and historical and cultural oppression.