American Studies 218 - Archive Stories

This course examines archives as rich sites of meaning and memory. We will gain valuable research skills as we develop original projects, collaborate with community partners, and write archive stories. Scholarly readings will foreground the functions of archives and the labor of archivists; local and oral histories will situate specific collections in the Connecticut River Valley. A number of questions will guide our study: In what ways are archives constructed and contested spaces? How do collections shape, narrate, and silence the past? How can we think about archives in social, historical, and communal contexts? What types of stories can and do archives tell?  We will work with staff in the Amherst College Special Collections as well as visit Wistariahurst Museum, the Holyoke Public Library, and the Sexual Minorities Archives in Holyoke.

Limited to 18 students. Spring semester. Lecturer Bergoffen.