Archives at the Margins: Toward a Liberatory Pedagogy in Anthropology

Abstract

This essay reflects on the academic margins as a space of openness for anthropological teaching and learning. I describe an activity in which students in a medical anthropology course analyzed primary source materials documenting Black health social movements that were curated for the class by a community archive in Los Angeles. Using this example, I explore possibilities for reshaping anthropological teaching toward an engaged, liberatory pedagogy that reconceptualizes knowledge as co-created, centers marginalized voices and experiences, and links theory to justice-oriented social action.