D'Archive

This episode features a conversation with UConn Archives’ Education and Outreach Coordinator Kara Flynn about her exhibition “Commemoration in Context” which runs from June 1st – December 18, 2026 in the Archives & Special Collections’ Schimmelpfeng Gallery located at the Dodd Center for Human Rights. Kara’s exhibition draws from collections relating to the...

This episode features a conversation with Professor Janet Pritchard who teaches photography at the UConn School of Fine Arts about her use of archives and its impact on her creative practice. Archivist Kristin Eshelman conducts this interview and has collaborated with Janet through instruction and exhibition projects including the Master of Fine Arts class Raid […]

This episode features a conversation with Jonathan Kopeliovich (’24) who has been working on building the digital community archives to commemorate WHUS RADIO: 100 years and counting. We discuss the challenges and celebrations of working with former DJ’s, interviews he has conducted to highlight the memories held by past and present station members, and the […]

This episode features a deep dive into archives and library collections that relate to the fantastical desert world of Dune created by author Frank Herbert (1920-1986) which gained traction with environmental activists of the late 1960s and 70s. This research session integrates my field recordings from the archives doing research into this selected topic on […]

This episode features a conversation with Assistant Professor Dexter Gabriel of the UConn History Department who writes speculative fiction under the pen name P. Djèlí Clark. This is Part 2 of the research sessions episodes on Hippie Hobbits (d’Archive #50) and the influences of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth on the late1960s counter-culture as discovered through […]

This episode of d’Archive features a conversation with Emily Larned who is a printmaker, zinester, and Associate Professor of Art in Graphic Design at UConn’s School of Fine Arts. We discuss her history as a Zine maker and creator of artists’ books, her co-founding of the Impractical Labor in Service of the Speculative Arts (ILLSA), and continued […]

This episode of d’Archive is hosted by archivist Kristin Eshelman in conversation with elementary school educator and picture book maker Corbin Lichtinger. Corbin spent time in the John P. McDonald Reading Room researching the James Marshall Papers as the 2024 James Marshall Fellow. This conversation features his perspective on process, creative pedagogy, and children’s books as he explored...

This episode features an exhibition walkthrough with alumni Gary King (’74) who was active in organizing Black students during his time at the University of Connecticut, Storrs campus. One of the high-water marks for activism by students of color at UConn was the 1974 Black Student Sit-In in Wilbur Cross Library which he operated as […]

This episode features an interview with alumni Rodney Bass (BA ’75/MA ’76) who was active in organizing Black students through the Organization of African American Students (OAAS) during his time at the University of Connecticut, Storrs campus. One of the high-water marks for activism by students of color at UConn was the 1974 Black Student […]

The 50th episode of d’Archive is the first of a new format that will appear periodically on the podcast which integrates my field recordings from the archives doing research into selected topics. This episode features a deep dive into archives and library collections that relate to the high fantasy world of Middle-Earth created by author […]

This episode of d’Archive features a conversation with metadata librarian Rhonda Kauffman about her zine collection (1994-2019) donated to the archives & special collections in 2019. Starting in 2020, Rhonda has worked to bring zines to the UConn Library and to help establish the Liberated Zine Zone on Level B of Homer Babbidge Library, a […]

This episode of d’Archive features a conversation between railroad photographer and collector Jack Swanberg and railroad collections archivist Laura Smith. Laura talks with Jack about his interest and pursuit of photographing trains across the world and the collection he has built over the years. Jack’s collection is deeded to the Archives & Special Collections and […]

This episode features interviews with University of Connecticut alumn and faculty who participated in the National Endowment for the Humanities funded experimental education program, the Inner College in the early 1970s. This unique program allowed UConn students to take courses from other students or educators in a non-traditional academic setting and receive credit for teaching […]

This episode of d’Archive is hosted by archivist Kristin Eshelman in conversation with children’s author and illustrator Eliza Kinkz. Eliza spent time in the John P. McDonald Reading Room researching the James Marshall Papers as the 2022 James Marshall Fellow. This conversation features her experience as a Marshall Fellow and the inspiration she drew from […]

This episode of d’Archive features a conversation with Directing Curator Marshall Weber of Booklyn, an art dealership in Brooklyn, NY. We discuss the social justice forward perspective he has for academia and the art world as well as the company he works for, “Booklyn’s mission is to promote artists’ books as art and research material […]

This episode continues a conversation from Episode 43 with archivist Melissa Watterworth Batt about poet Charles Olson (1910-1970) and his collection which documents an intensive study into Herman Melville’s personal library and the marginalia found within it. Olson worked with Melville’ relatives as well as librarians, private collectors, and book dealers to attempt to track […]

This episode features a conversation with archivist Melissa Watterworth Batt about poet Charles Olson (1910-1970) and his collection which documents an intensive study into Herman Melville’s personal library and the marginalia found within it. Olson worked with Melville’ relatives as well as librarians, private collectors, and book dealers to attempt to track down the “lost […]

This episode of d’Archive features a discussion with the Head of Archives & Special Collections, Rebecca Parmer on a digital exhibition 25 for 25 which celebrates the 25th anniversary of the merging of UConn Library units: University Archives and Special Collections in 1995, as well as the construction of the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center […]

This episode of d’Archive was recorded in the Fall of 2019 and features a conversation with Victoria Johnson, a human rights intern at the Archives & Special Collections and former UConn Library student employee. Victoria explored the Calabretta Collection of 1960s memorabilia, concentrating on the audio material related to the G.I. anti-war protest movement and the music […]

This episode of d’Archive features an eclectic holiday mix of audio samples from the archives selected by archivist Kristin Eshelman. Having been a guest for the 2017 holiday episode #10 of the podcast, it was only natural to ask her back to start the holiday off right for a part II of sorts. Featured Tracks: […]

This episode of d’Archive was recorded in the Fall of 2019 and features a conversation with Adrianna Chestnut, a human rights intern at the Archives & Special Collections as well as a member of the student environmental activism group Fridays For Future. Adrianna explored the collections for material relating to her interests in the first […]

Season 4 of d’Archive kicks off with selections all semester from the Black Experience in the Art Collection, an archived series of lectures from a course taught under the same name from 1970-1994 at the University of Connecticut. This course was prompted by the Center for Black Studies in the late 1960s which encouraged other […]

This episode features a conversation with the repository manager for the Connecticut Digital Archive (CTDA), Mike Kemezis. Mike discusses the functions of the CTDA and issues of access and discovery of digital archives. The CTDA hosts digital collections from institutions across the state of Connecticut and is the primary access point for the UConn Archives […]

This onsite interview takes place in the Homer Babbidge Library’s Conservation Lab where we are led by UConn Library Conservator Natalie Granados on a tour. Natalie demonstrates the tools and machinery in the lab which she uses everyday to restore, preserve and house the fragile collections at both the UConn Archives and general Babbidge Collection. […]

This episode features a “best of the blog” commentary from UConn History Phd candidate and Archives student employee, Shaine Scarminach. Shaine has worked in the archives to unearth potential research topics and groupings of collections to make getting into the archives easier for students. His writing and research feature prominently on the Archives Blog and […]