BLST 080A. Black Archives

Archives are often classified by what they miss; their “noisy silences” and their colonial privileging of knowledge and information. For the Barbadian poet and theorist Kamau Braithwaite, archives are containers of cultural practice and spirit. As sites of black life, they breathe and are porous. This course demystifies archival research through a hands-on approach of getting to know and engage institutional, community, and independent archives and collections. We will examine how black archival thought and practice throws historical records and archival conventions into crisis, while also coming to understand how scholars, artists, librarians and conservationists are working to make collections more equitable, expansive and accessible. Course sessions will include special collections workshops in class, and visits to Black research and collecting institutions in the region.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2027. Rahaman.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies.
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies

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