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The Worlds of Ntozake ShangeAND DIGITAL STORYTELLING

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photographs – archive find

by Elizabeth 1 Comment

Both times we’ve gone to the archives, I’ve been grabbed by some of the most mundane items. I initially expected to be excited by seeing things like her medals, awards, and accommodations. While these items are fascinating and only add to my respect for Shange as an artist and activist, I have been more intrigued with items related to her personal life.  I’ve enjoyed looking at the items that are more related to her personal life.

On Thursday, I spent a lot of time looking through her photo albums and letters. I was really intrigued with the photos of her daughter, Savannah. Some of them are clearly taken at big events like birthday celebrations, but some of them seem to be in very average, regular, every day moments.

my 5th birthday

 

I started to think about the function of pictures. They are often aesthetic and artistic, but they are also largely for memory and preservation. It makes me wonder what prompted someone to take these pictures and what makes a “Kodak moment.”

I’m not really sure I have a definite answer, but it has made me think back to the themes of ancestry and honoring what came before that is so present in Shange’s work. Considering the gaping holes in history resulting from colonization and imperialism, it is the mere act of taking photos of the every day can be a method of resistance. Taking pictures preserves these histories, and even says that our lives are worth remembering.

 

 

 

Works Cited:

Ntozake Shange Papers, 1966-2016; Box and Folder; Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library, Barnard College. http://collections.barnard.edu/public/repositories/2/resources/377 Accessed November 7, 2019.

Blogpost Assignment: Archive Find of the Week

by Kim Hall 0 Comments

Student perusing the finding aid to the Ntozake Shange Collection

Dear class, now that you’ve had some collective exposure to The Ntozake Shange Collection and the archives, you should be planning to go on your own to explore and consider how you might help the archive speak to others through your digital story.  This means, as Brianna pointed out on Monday, journeying between the archives, the class readings and Scalar.

Any time before Thanksgiving break, you will write a post about an item found during your archival research.  It does not have to be something you  will use in your project. Pretend you are writing a caption label (20-150 words) and then include some discussion of the following:

representation and purpose

by Elizabeth 1 Comment

In the podcast “Seeing Yourself in the Archives,” one of the students says, “one of the most important things is to see yourself represented and find purpose, and also heal.” It was interesting to hear representation framed in this way because I typically encounter the term in reference to how vast the lack of representation of marginalized folks is in media, academia, or other spheres is. We typically talk about the costs of lack of representation- negative stereotypes internalized, symbolic annihilation, exclusion, etc. While these conversations are crucial, this framing can at times suggest that representation needs to “happen” in order for non-marginalized folks or exclusive spaces to become educated, inclusive, and diverse. The framing that the student chose instead highlights the positives of representation. Instead, the emphasis is creating art “for us, by us” as a means of finding our own purposes and healing. Based on what we have read from Shange so far, this is something that her work is meant to accomplish. I think of “for colored girls…” and the emphasis it places on the women sharing their individual stories and collective experiences as women of color. For Shange, representation is not supposed to pander to what a white audience (theatrical or otherwise) would expect. Shange’s work’s representation is best summarized by this line:

i found god in myself

& i loved her / i loved her fiercely

It is an opportunity to share and hear one’s individual and collective stories and find healing in those actions.

Thank you, Shange

by Dayna Beatty 1 Comment

I wanted to write a final, reflective blog post surround what I’ve found in the archives, how I’ve come to understand the importance of the archives we have access to and Shange’s contributions to Barnard’s library, and the importance of fair use and copy right laws when it comes to engaging with the materials we use.

I’ve realize through my visits to the archives the incredible courage and confidence it must have taken Shange to leave not just unpublished work or drafts of documents to us, but personal items, in particular personal journals, for public use at an institution. Her decision to do so not only demonstrates her own strength, but also her confidence in the Barnard College community. To trust such a large group of women with this invaluable and private information showcases how much Shange values our college and the education we receive through it. I can’t imagine sharing my personal information in the way that Shange has, and I wish I had the chance to tell her how truly appreciative I am that she has given Barnard this incredible gift. This donation seems to directly embody Shange’s spirit, her generosity, and the courage I hope to one day exude.

During our in-class activity on Thursday, Professor Hall asked us to reflect on what we wish people knew about Shange and what we learned through this course. My answer to both of these question lies within the archives. I wish more people knew about the archives, how accessible they are, and what they have to offer, because through this course, I learned all of this. Prior to taking this course, I had no idea that Barnard was in possession of the archives, that there was so much material in the archives, or that every student has open access to them. I wish more people were aware of them, because I’ve learned so much about Shange, and by extension myself, through self-reflection inspired by Shange, and by visiting and embracing the materials in the archives. I’ve shared this with my close friends, but in the coming semester I am going to make a much larger effort to encourage my peers and members of the various on-campus organizations I’m a part of to visit and use the archives—that’s what they are there for! We cannot truly appreciate the gift that Shange has given us if we aren’t taking advantage of it regularly.

 

Finally, I wanted to touch on the importance of fair use and copy right, and the need to understand them both. Personally, my concept of these ideas was very surface-level prior to the workshops we had with professionals who deal with these issues every day. The people that produce the works that we are using for this course, our scalar projects and for our educational betterment at large, worked hard to produce the materials they did. It is important to acknowledge and thank the original creators and those that inspire us. I’m grateful that this course gave me a better understanding of these concepts, because these are lessons that I will take with me beyond this class whenever I engage with and use materials that I have not personally created.

For the tech component, I wanted to include a list of Tweets that came out after Shange’s death, of people remembering her spirit and her work. However, there were so many, I would like to invite anyone reading this to check out this link from a website that celebrates and informs women of color, in addition to visiting twitter and filtering for tweets that use the #shange at the end of October.

Archives and Feminism

by Kim Hall 0 Comments
feminism is the political theory and practice to free all women: women of color, working-class women, poor women, physically challenged women, lesbians, old women, as well as white economically privileged heterosexual women. Anything less than this is not feminism, but merely female self-aggrandizement.
— Barbara Smith (1979), qtd in Becky Thompson, “Multiracial Feminism”
In fact, during the 1970s, women of color were involved on three fronts-working with white- dominated feminist groups; forming women’s caucuses in existing mixed-gender organizations; and developing autonomous Black, Latina, Native American, and Asian feminist organizations.
–Becky Thompson, “Multiracial Feminism”
Phat Mama magazine cover art

Phat Mama magazine cover art

Thanks so much to  Jennell, Laura and Makaria for last week’s lively discussion!  Although Jennell had her own archival adventure at a street fair, we will begin our collective archival journey today.  We are visiting The Ntozake Shange Collection ON HER BIRTHDAY!!!!  (Don’t forget that we are meeting in the new archive space in Milstein–directions below).  In addition to Barnard librarians and archivists, Shannon O’Neill and Vani Natarajan, we will hear from Steven Fullwood, 

Barnard Teaches funded internships

by Kim Hall 0 Comments
Ntozake on Supersisters Feminist Trading card. (1979)

Ntozake on Supersisters Feminist Trading card. (1979)

With Mellon Foundation funding, the BARNARD TEACHES: REAL PLACE + DIGITAL ACCESS grant is offering two paid internships for the summer of 2016. Each intern will split her time between the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (20-25 hours) and the Barnard College Archives (10-15 hours). This is an opportunity to see the inner workings of the premier archive of black life in the US as well as to work with world-class collections and experts in their respective fields. Each interns will work with either the Communications Division or the Jean Blackwell Hutson Reference and Research Division, occasionally shadow Steven G. Fullwood, Associate Curator of the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, and work with collaboratively with the Barnard Archivists. (See attached description of expected skills & duties.)

You can find complete description and application here and on Courseworks.

Zake and Zakettes in the New York Times (Update re class)

by Kim Hall 0 Comments

Hello Zakettes, yesterday the New York Times arts blog announced Zake’s contribution of her collection to the college. You now have official recognition that you are the first scholars to access this archive! Please do share this news in your social media outlets.

Monday’s class schedule (Meet at ICP)

Discussion of Amanda’s blogpost

Introduction of ICON WordPress theme we will use for the class (Sarah)

Discussion of remaining schedule (including team meetings), final project criteria (please review).  Design team  (SG, KFH, Amanda, Danielle,  Dania or Melissa); Text team: (BT, TR, Nicole, Sophia, Dania or Melissa)

Open time for editing projects

TIP from Steven Fullwood: Fair Use

by Kim Hall 0 Comments

Our Schomburg partner has come through again with some advice on Fair Use in this very quick Power Point. This information is particularly important for those of you adding non-Schomburg content (like music) to your projects.


 

Also available in Courseworks and here for download
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zHpH0SbpsZL0W0qB5O38N3J8UOjp47mR4X-0LqKAmXs/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=10000

 

 

Week 9: Our well-told story & unexpected metadata

by Kim Hall 0 Comments

Original sketch for the Wedding Dress from the collection sketchbook; Fall-Winter 1988;  Pulled from the internet. Photo Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent

I hope everyone had a restorative spring break! This week at ICP we will work collaboratively and individually: first, we’ll work with Sarah so that she can get started on the website and then you will be work more on your individual projects in concert with Bradly. Our class schedule:

  • Discussion of Kiani & Dania’s blogposts (30-ish mins)
  • Sarah Greene directs discussion of look/feel of website (60 mins?)
  • Scanning, editing of project materials.(remaining time).

 

 

To prepare:

READ Kiani and Dania’s blogposts; notes from last website discussion

SKIM (if time) the Well-Told story posts of your peers

SIGN-UP for your Harlem Semester tour