LATS 410
Arquivistas: An Archival Storytelling Course Spring 2025
Division II W Writing Skills D Difference, Power, and Equity

Archival storytelling: the “creative practice of resurfacing hidden, untapped, and untold historical treasures and reimagining that content in various storytelling presentations that speak to modern-day audiences” (Arbo Radiko). In this generative writing and critical practice course, students inhabit the roles of writers and storytellers as preservers of history and culture. With a focus on documenting and/or reimagining Latinidades, the course invites students to address the unique narrative forms archives can take beyond collections of artifacts. How can archives inform the creation and definition of literary work? What is the relationship between archives and power? What information might the archivist/storyteller choose to include or omit, reveal or conceal? How might they practice “radical empathy,” taking into account the various affective roles and responsibilities of the archivist, the records creator, the records subject, the records user, and community members? Creative-writing and research assignments help students build toward final archival storytelling projects. Throughout the process, students learn to: research, compile, and analyze materials from various repositories; identify and write emergent stories from collected material; and present these stories to the public using narrative elements and digital tools.