Archival Silences in Africa

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Archives and Silences: Writing African History: Archival records, especially written documents are often assumed to be the authoritative sources for documenting historical events. Nevertheless, historians have questioned this assumption, shedding light on how archival records not only perpetuate omissions and inequalities but also advocate for using sources like oral traditions and rumors to reconstruct the past. With African history as its case study, this course invites students to explore the methodologies employed by historians in crafting narratives on topics such as gender, slavery, animal-human relations, and urbanization. Emphasizing diverse sources like songs, fiction, photography, the built environment, and surveys, students will discover how scholars amplify marginalized voices in historical narratives. We will aim to tackle questions such as: How were archival records and institutions that preserve them created? How do historians navigate archival formation and silences in their research and writing? Which new innovative sources have historians incorporated beyond official records? What are the possibilities and limitations of their methodological approaches? Course activities will include conducting oral interviews, critiquing museum exhibitions, and writing research papers that account for issues of power and inequality in archives and in the field of African history. After taking this course, students will be able to assess and apply historical methodology tools in their respective fields of study.