{"id":16310,"date":"2026-06-08T10:09:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T14:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310///library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//www.qc.cuny.edu/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//library/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//?p=16310"},"modified":"2026-06-11T10:58:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T14:58:56","slug":"undergraduate-archival-explorers-historical-memory-and-representation-in-the-archives-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310///library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//www.qc.cuny.edu/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//library/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//2026/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//06/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//08/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//undergraduate-archival-explorers-historical-memory-and-representation-in-the-archives-2/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//","title":{"rendered":"Undergraduate Archival Explorers: Historical Memory and Representation in the Archives"},"content":{"rendered":"
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Header” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#E71939″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,3_4″ use_custom_gutter=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”82%” max_width=”82%” custom_padding=”5px||5px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310///library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//www.qc.cuny.edu/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//library/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//wp-content/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//uploads/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//sites/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//127/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//2026/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//03/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//QCL1-logo1-white-80h.png” alt=”ºì¶¹ÊÓÆµ Library logo white” title_text=”ºì¶¹ÊÓÆµ Library” url=”https:/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310///library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//www.qc.cuny.edu/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//library/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//” admin_label=”QCL Logo” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//et_pb_image][/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//et_pb_column][/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//et_pb_row][/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” admin_label=”Header Image” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_image src=”https:/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310///library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//www.qc.cuny.edu/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//library/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//wp-content/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//uploads/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//sites/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//127/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//2025/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//02/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//cropped-2024-09-10_Rosenthal_Library-08-scaled-3-e1773941209524.jpg” alt=”Spring view of Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library” title_text=”Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//et_pb_fullwidth_image][/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ specialty=”on” background_color_2=”#FFFFFF” padding_right_2=”20px” padding_left_2=”20px” padding_top_bottom_link_2=”false” padding_left_right_link_2=”true” admin_label=”Content Area” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#EFEFEF” custom_padding=”20px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ specialty_columns=”3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_row_inner _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” width=”100%” custom_padding=”20px|20px||20px|false|true” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column_inner saved_specialty_column_type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_post_title title=”off” author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||10px|||” custom_padding=”|20px||20px|false|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text admin_label=”Byline” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”20px” custom_padding=”|20px||20px|false|true” global_colors_info=”{}”]/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310/n
By: HebatAllah Basala, ºì¶¹ÊÓÆµ Undergraduate Student/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310/n [/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310//et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Main Content” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”10px|20px|10px|20px|true|true” global_colors_info=”{}”]/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310/n My archival research began with a question that was deeply personal to me. In a previous senior seminar course, I conducted archival research on Edwards Said and his significance in shaping modern Arab intellectual and cultural identity. As an Arab student, that project made me more aware of questions surrounding representation, historical memory, and whose voices are represented in institutional spaces. Entering the Queen’s College Archives, I wanted to explore a related question closer to home: If Arab students and other underrepresented communities have long been present on campus, how have they been represented or omitted within the history of ºì¶¹ÊÓÆµ itself? More specifically, I wanted to trace how demographic shifts at ºì¶¹ÊÓÆµ influenced campus culture, curriculum, and institutional priorities over time./library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310/n 1941 white student organizations/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310/n Over the course of approximately 10 hours of research conducted in the ºì¶¹ÊÓÆµ Archives, I examined yearbooks, SEEK program records, Phoenix student newspapers, open admissions documents, student handbooks, and administrative records spanning from the 1940s through the 1980s. Working directly with original archive materials gave the research a uniquely immersive quality. Personally, the tactile nature of the research made the past feel alive and present in the moment. This was my favorite part of my research in the archives, as I felt privileged enough to be able to handle these delicate documents that provide such important insights and are a representation of previous students who attended this college./library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310/n 1968 Demands/library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310/n One of the most significant discoveries was the dramatic demographic and political transformation visible through the decades. The 1941 yearbook portrayed an overwhelmingly white student body, faculty, administration, and campus leadership. By contrast, materials from the 1970s and 1980s; revealed a campus in transition, one that is shaped by the implementation of open admissions across CUNY, the activism of SEEK students, and the growing presence of Black, Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and immigrant student organizations. Student newspapers documented protests against apartheid, debates over Israel and Jewish identity, activism surrounding affirmative action, and increasing demands for institutional representation in faculty. These records showed that changing demographics did not only diversify the campus numerically, but they also fundamentally altered the political and intellectual life of ºì¶¹ÊÓÆµ./library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310/n /library/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/16310/n
