Finding Baldwin: An Exploration of Belonging and Identity in Archives
As part of the 2022 Mary Stevens Reckford Memorial Lecture in European Studies, "Finding Baldwin" was an event in partnership with University Libraries.
In this three-hour workshop, archives practitioners use archival materials related to James Baldwin from Wilson Library’s special collections to trace how archives are used, described, and chosen. Participants are asked to consider how the experiences of the archivist, the creators of collections, and the subjects of collections intermingle to determine what we can and can’t see in the archive. The goal is to give the audience a new lens for analyzing the archives that form the foundation of so much intellectual inquiry.
Panelists & Facilitators:
María R. Estorino, Director of Wilson Library and Associate University Librarian for Special Collections
Chaitra Powell, Curator of Southern Historical Collection
Dawne Lucas, Technical Services Archivist
Elizabeth Ott, Frank Borden Hanes Curator of Rare Books
Aaron Smithers, Special Collections Research & Instructional Services Librarian
00:00 Welcome from María R. Estorino, AUL for Special Collections
08:33 How did these items get here? Facilitator: Elizabeth Ott, Curator of Rare Books
26:48 Break
31:07 How would you find these materials? Facilitator: Dawne Lucas, Technical Services Archivist
01:01:45 Break
01:03:05 How would you use these materials? Facilitator: Aaron Smithers, Reference and Instruction Librarian
01:33:31 Break
01:35:59 Identity and Belonging in the Archives – Personal Perspectives
Panel Discussion with Elizabeth Ott, Chaitra Powell, Aaron Smithers, and Dawne Lucas
02:14:23 Q&A
On Feb. 25, Dr. Zaborowska will deliver the Reckford lecture, titled, “‘Between Home, Blackness, and Me:’ Unsettling Locations, Lives, and Archives in American Literary Studies."
The 2022 Reckford Lecture's expanded programming was supported by the IAH’s Race, Memory, and Reckoning Initiative.