Histories, Archaeologies, Archives

FaculteitFaculty of Humanities

NiveauMaster

Studiejaar2026-2027

Beschrijving

Course goals

This course aims to provide students with interdisciplinary tools and frameworks to critically investigate the construction and function of histories and archives. Students will challenge institutional authority and explore alternative perspectives, emphasizing the role histories play in shaping identities, informing political movements, and influencing everyday decisions. Central to the course is the belief that imagining alternative futures begins with engaging with alternative histories.

After completing the course, the student has knowledge and skills:

to set up and systematically conduct historical research, using archival and other sources,
to critically assess and interpret these sources within a clearly stated and discussed methodological and theoretical framework

Content

This course examines histories from a presentist perspective, encouraging students to interrogate the ways archives and historical narratives are constructed and mobilized. The course integrates theories and methods from information science, archival studies, and popular memory traditions, alongside approaches such as history from below, post-structuralist archaeology of knowledge, black feminist decolonial frameworks, and the queering of temporalities.

Students will critically engage with the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of these approaches and apply them to their own research questions. They will explore diverse source materials—both traditional and digital—analyze and interpret them within clearly defined frameworks, and reflect on the role of archives and histories in imagining alternative futures. The course provides training in historical and interdisciplinary research methods, bridging analogue and digital sources.

Additional information

The course is designed for students in the RMA Media, Arts, and Performance Studies, NLC, Musicology, Art History, Gender Studies, and CLS. Exchange students should coordinate with the International Office and Programme Coordinator for eligibility.

Please note: the time slot shown here is not yet final, and may still be modified until the third Wednesday in September.

Career orientation
This course develops critical skills in analyzing and interpreting media, art, and performance through the lens of historical and archival research. Students will gain experience working with analogue and digital source materials, and critically reflect on the practices of collecting, archiving, and presenting. These skills are relevant to careers in cultural institutions, academia, media, education, and other fields that engage with history and identity.

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