AHA Session 143
Saturday, January 4, 2025: 3:30 PM-5:00 PM
Rendezvous Trianon (New York Hilton, Third Floor)
Chair:
Danna Agmon, Virginia Tech
Panel:
Carmen M. K. Gitre, Virginia Tech
Sue Peabody, Washington State University, Vancouver
Christy Pichichero, George Mason University
Bianca Premo, Florida International University
David A. Sartorius, University of Maryland, College Park
Sue Peabody, Washington State University, Vancouver
Christy Pichichero, George Mason University
Bianca Premo, Florida International University
David A. Sartorius, University of Maryland, College Park
Organized by the AHA Research Division and the American Historical Review
Session Abstract
This roundtable discussion will allow historians in various fields to reflect on the issues surrounding unpublished and incomplete historical research. Panelists will focus on projects in which they invested significant time and labor yet decided to leave behind or modify for complex reasons, involving ethical, financial, disciplinary, linguistic, technical, political, institutional, and personal considerations. The “Abandoned Histories” panelists will consider how some archival formations make such abandonment or modification more likely or even desirable, and discuss how unfinished work shapes other projects and historical fields of inquiry. Participants will share the stories of their own abandoned research projects, and approach the question of uncompleted research as a theoretical, methodological, and professional issue. The panelists will also invite audience members to reflect on their own abandoned histories.
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