EIHS Workshop: Affect and the Archive: Writing the History of Emotions In Emotional Times

In the past year, the day-to-day conduct of historical research and teaching has changed substantially, creating new forms of engagement with archival material, as well as novel "structures of feeling" and mood that shape the narratives historians produce both on the page and in the (now virtual) classroom. These developments have prompted a number of pressing questions about affect and the archive, emotionality and history: How does one historicize affect? What are the emotional consequences of historical work, both for historians and for those affected by their research and teaching? How does one approach a "difficult" or "traumatic" archive, and what makes an archive "difficult" or "traumatic" in the first place? This roundtable will discuss these questions and more from a self-reflexive perspective, exploring affect not only as a subject of historical inquiry and a methodological approach, but also as an integral component of the experience of being a historian in emotional times.

Panelists:
•Colin Garon, PhD Student, Anthropology and History, University of Michigan
•Matthew Hershey, PhD Candidate, History, University of Michigan
•Tara Weinberg, PhD Candidate, History, University of Michigan
•Deirdre de la Cruz (chair), Associate Professor; History, Asian Languages and Cultures; University of Michigan

Free and open to the public. This is a remote event and will take place online via Zoom. Please register here in advance: https://umich.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fnV7XugkTKK8krUXt5APqg

This event is part of the Friday Series of the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies. It is made possible by a generous contribution from Kenneth and Frances Aftel Eisenberg.