Imagination and Ancestral Memory in Memorial Drive and the Halsey Family Archive

Abstract

This thesis explores how memory, specifically in the context of Black women's narratives, is not merely preserved and documented but engaged with through imagination, shaping memory as dynamic. Engaging Saidiya Hartman's concept of critical fabulation, this project examines how archival absences, gaps, and silences are countered through imaginative storytelling in both literary and digital spaces. Through a close reading of Natasha Trethewey's memoir Memorial Drive as an archive, this thesis argues her texts functions as a site of critical fabulation, weaving together historical records, personal recollections, and imagination to provide a futuristic vision for Black communities built upon active participation with one's ancestral past. Extending this theoretical framework into the digital humanities, this project also includes the creation of an imaginative digital archive titled, "The Halsey Family Archive." This interdisciplinary approach, bridging together African American literary studies, archival studies, and digital humanities, challenges traditional archival practices that position Black life as static rather than a dynamic site of reimagination.