February 8-9, 2019
The Barnard Center for Research on Women (BCRW) presents:
44th Annual Scholar and Feminist Conference: THE POLITICS AND ETHICS OF THE ARCHIVE
The Diana Center, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027
Friday, February 8, 4 PM–8 PM & Saturday, February 9, 10 AM–6 PM
Co-Sponsors: The Center for the Study of Social Difference (CU), Program in American Studies (BC), Barnard College Library and Archives, the Consortium of Critical Interdisciplinary Studies (BC), Digital Humanities Center (BC), Department of Africana Studies (BC), Department of English (BC), the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life (CU), the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (BC), and more (list in progress).
Featuring
Diana Carolina Sierra Becerra, La Vaughn Belle, Maria Cotera, Jarrett Drake, Akwaeke Emezi, Jennifer Guglielmo, Michelle Joffroy, Justin Leroy, Laura McTighe, Chinelo Okparanta, Cameron Rowland, Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz, C. Riley Snorton, and more.
Plus workshops with the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College, Librarians and Archivists for Palestine, the NYC Trans Oral History Project, Torn Apart/Separados, XFR, and more.
Description
This year’s Scholar and Feminist conference builds on BCRW’s close collaboration with the Barnard College Archives to address the complex questions that circulate around the politics and ethics of archival work. Central to traditional scholarly work in reconstructing and interpreting the past, archives are perhaps even more crucial to the preservation of the stories and legacies of marginalized communities and political movements.
The S&F Conference will bring together archivists, librarians, artists, activists, and scholars to discuss the particular political and ethical challenges that reside in the project of creating archives for communities and social justice movements. How do we move beyond the notion of the archive as indifferent repository of textual, material, and digital materials and toward an archive of engagement? How can archival material be put to use to draw attention to muted histories and otherwise invisible networks of affiliation and connection? What difference do recent digital tools and capabilities make in the archiving and accessing of the past? How can archives empower communities to tell their own stories and offer others access to those stories without falling into the trap of appropriation? What political and ethical questions weigh most heavily on the contemporary work of the archive?
In addition to traditional keynotes and panels, the conference will feature workshops and exhibits to introduce participants to the wide array of work taking place among communities and their archivists at the current moment.
Registration information
Registration is preferred but not required. Online registration will be open until the morning of the conference on Friday, February 8. Day-of registration will be available at the conference.
Please consider making a contribution with your registration. Your support makes our programming possible. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Accessibility information
The venue is accessible to people with mobility disabilities. Please contact BCRW for additional access needs.