Special Event: "The Poetics of Propagation"

An Interdisciplinary Humanities Salon

An archival exhibition and zine launch explore how manmade and natural disasters have shaped institutional and personal archives in the Southern U.S., Jamaica, Goa and Mozambique.

How can loss and decay rejuvenate our understanding of the world we inhabit? How should we respond when generations of knowledge are set ablaze by colonial powers, or succumb to “natural disasters”? And what do we mean by “recovery” when the recuperation of historical fact is, itself, impossible?

The “Poetics of Propagation” is an archival exhibition and zine launch curated by Nicole-Ann Lobo and Kierra Duncan. They will reflect on the role manmade and natural disasters have played in shaping institutional and personal archives in the Southern U.S., Jamaica, Goa, and Mozambique. As a group, we will discuss propagation as method and strategy: how seeds of knowledge and being germinate out of materials that superficially appear ruined beyond repair. 

Light refreshments will be served, and limited free copies of the zine will be available for attendees.

About the organizers:

Kierra Duncan is a doctoral candidate in English and Interdisciplinary Humanities at Princeton University. Her dissertation research focuses on the evolution of a literary genre found in the nineteenth century called the plantation journal. Her work focuses on journals written in Jamaica and the Georgia Sea Islands. Along with literary studies, Kierra’s work is informed by history and anthropology.

Nicole-Ann Lobo is a doctoral candidate in Art & Archaeology and Interdisciplinary Humanities at Princeton University. Her dissertation explores twentieth-century painters, jazz musicians, photographers, and textile artists who created decolonial networks and engaged in worldbuilding between Europe, western India, and East Africa. Nicole-Ann’s writing has appeared in various publications including Texte zur Kunst, Dissent, October, Commonweal, and elsewhere. She is Assistant Editor at Third Text.

Presented in partnership with the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in the Humanities at Princeton University with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Community Room Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Assistive listening system compatible with personal T-coil-enabled devices (compatible headphones also available for use during programs)
• English-language subtitles for films (when available)
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