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A Trip at the French Colonial Archives

En été 2017, grâce à une bourse de recherche que j’ai obtenue du Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, j’ai pu me rendre aux ANOM (Archives Nationales d’Outre Mer) à Aix-en-Provence où j’ai pu, pour la première fois, explorer les archives coloniales. Je ne suis bien entendu pas historienne et je ne possède pas non plus les outils analytiques dont les historiens possède. Malgré cela, j’ai beaucoup appris et j’espère y retourner.

Je ne pense pas que j’oublierai cette expérience. Sur place, j’ai aussi pu profiter des ateliers doctorants proposés par la French Colonial Historical Society qui nous ont guidé sur comment faire de la recherche dans les archives coloniales. Nous avons aussi pu profiter d’une visite guidée à travers ces documents précieux.

L’essentiel de ma recherche doctorale, et donc ce que j’espérerais trouver aux archives, tourne autour de ces points-là:

  • La production écrite des femmes noires aux Antilles;
  • Les traces des féminismes avant l’heure ou avant l’emploi du mot “féminisme”;
  • La politique du cheveu et de la mode dans la diaspora noire francophone;

Bien entendu, en arrivant aux ANOM, ma curiosité m’a emportée vers bien d’autres chemins tels que:

  • Le créole et son utilisation à l’écrit;
  • Mon histoire personnelle rattachée à la Martinique.

J’ai vécu trois semaines absolument émouvantes aux ANOM, j’ai été particulièrement touchée de voir des documents authentiques, dont certains datent du XVIIème siècle! Et à la fois, il faut dire que consulter ces archives en France (et non pas en Martinique, en Algérie ou au Sénégal) est un sentiment étrange.

Si vous avez déjà fait des recherches d’archive, quels en sont vos souvenirs? Si vous n’avez pas encore fait de la recherche en archive, voudriez-vous en faire?

In the summer of 2017 and thanks to a research grant I got from the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, I was able to go to the ANOM (Archives Nationales d’Outre Mer) in Aix-en-Provence, France, where I was able to explore colonial archives for the first time. I am not a historian and nor do I possess all the analytical tools that historians possess. Nevertheless, I learned a lot and I hope to come back.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget this experience. On site, I was also able to take part in doctoral workshops facilitated by the French Colonial Historical Society. They guided us on how to do research in colonial archives and we were able to go on a guided tour of the facility amongst precious manuscripts.

The bulk of my doctoral research – and therefore, what I hope I would find – revolves around these themes:

  • Black women’s writing in the French Caribbean;
  • Traces of feminisms before using the word “feminism”;
  • Hair politics and fashion in the black francophone diaspora.

Naturally, once there, curiosity took me to take a few different other paths such as

  • French creole and its writing;
  • My personal ties to Martinique.

I’ve had an incredible three weeks at the ANOM, and I was particularly touched to see authentic documents, some of which dated back to the XVIIth century! At the same time, it was somewhat strange to consult these documents in France (and not in Martinique, in Algeria or in Senegal).

If you’ve done archival research before, what are some memories you keep from that time? If you have not done archival research, would you want to?

 

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I won the 3MT People’s Choice Award!

I recently just competed in the 3MT (Three Minute Thesis competition) at Ciné in Athens, GA to explain my research to a non-specialist audience. I won the People’s Choice Award, which is third place, and as opposed to first and second place, the award winner is chosen by the audience.

What an amazing and challenging experience! For me, it served as a reminder to ask myself: who is my audience? I have had to prepare and rehearse for this performance a lot. So much so that it had to be second nature to me!

It was such a great exercise that I will most likely incorporate to classes I teach in the near future.

Have you participated in a 3MT? Would you want to?