Abstract:
This poster will present experiences of, and strategies for, teaching with challenging and distressing topics and materials in archives.
Description:
This poster will present experiences of, and strategies for, teaching with challenging and distressing topics and materials in archives. In recognizing that our collections include (or have archival silences around) challenging, controversial, and even disturbing topics, when and why do we decide to share and prioritize these records, and how do we present and contextualize them for students? For the past three years, the UMass Amherst department of Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) has seen an exponential increase in the number of class visits from undergraduate and graduate level classes, as well as local community primary and secondary student groups. As the department’s lead instructor, I will present some of my experiences teaching with challenging primary sources, and particularly interrogate the power dynamics and potentialities of these sources, which are often deeply appealing for instruction, despite their potential harm to students and danger of shutting down, instead of opening up, critical dialogue. In addition to specific case studies of working with difficult records and topics in a classroom setting, I will present some of my professional training and research in how to mediate intellectual, emotional, and embodied reactions to these sources in ways that give students agency and pathways towards difficult knowledge. I would love to start a dialogue, and hear from others in reaction to my, and their own, struggles, triumphs, and strategies in working with “challenging” topics and sources.
