Reflection

This project takes the form of a digital archive that pairs historical documents with literary texts and close readings. The materials I work with include archival objects we encountered throughout the semester, such as letters, government documents, and ship logs, as well as literary works by Anne Bradstreet, Layli Long Soldier, Audre Lorde, and Rebecca Hall. I chose these materials because they represent different relationships to the archive. Some are official records produced by institutions, while others are literary interventions that respond to, challenge, or expand those records.

The method of this project is both analytical and design-based. I conduct close readings of archival documents, paying attention not only to what they say, but how they say it, through language, structure, and omission. I then place these documents in conversation with literary texts that reinterpret or resist their framing. The digital format allows me to present these pairings interactively, so that users move between document and interpretation rather than encountering a fixed argument. I chose a website as my medium because it reflects my central interest in how form shapes understanding. Unlike a traditional essay, the digital interface allows the archive to feel navigable, fragmented, and relational, mirroring the way meaning is constructed through engagement rather than simply contained within the text.