Date of Award

Spring 4-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

English

First Advisor

Alex Brostoff

Second Advisor

Orchid Tierney

Abstract

DEAR ADA: An Archive of Memory, Migration, and Mooring reaches toward my possible and spiritual self. In this essay collection, moving from a more traditional CNF voice to more experimental fragments that formally mimic a sinking inward, I ponder what it means to create opacity as a liberatory language. I experiment with how to build a house for people you love without colonial settlement, or if that is ever possible. I explore how we avoid becoming consenting subjects of the Empire through sinking and through embracing insanity. I question the so-called correct collective memory imposed by the violent construction of historical archives and I attempt to make my own archive, bearing witness to History around me in both PRC and the U.S.. This thesis is inspired by many decolonial theorists and disability scholars, especially Édouard Glissant, Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, and Sara Ahmed. I believe Indigenous spirituality paves the path for liberation, and you, Ada — simultaneously a mother, a doula, a spirit, a mad woman, an ancestor, a sibling, a descendant, and last but not least, myself — bring me closer to our liberatory future every day.

Rights Statement

All rights reserved. This copy is provided to the Kenyon Community solely for individual academic use. For any other use, please contact the copyright holder for permission.

Download

Available for download on Tuesday, April 13, 2027

Share

COinS