Divestment, Dissent, and Discipline: A Workshop

Divestment, Dissent, and Discipline: A Workshop is a digital lesson plan provides primary source materials from the Barnard Archives & Special Collections and discussion questions to guide workshops or classes interested in utilizing archival materials to research histories of divestment campaigns, student dissent, and student discipline at Barnard College. This plan may also be used as a roadmap for individual researchers seeking archival materials related to student activism and protest on campus.

I created this workshop plan as a Barnard Archives Graduate Fellow during the 2024-25 academic year. It was created within an atmosphere of intense political and social turmoil in the U.S, especially in higher education institutions. Recent events have fueled increased requests from researchers at Barnard for materials related to histories of campus protest and activism. In response to that demand, this guide is intended to aid researchers in identifying relevant materials for their inquiries.

This resource also serves as an affirmation of the right to protest and freedom of expression on college campuses. By looking to the archive for evidence of past organizing, activism, and negotiations, the archive may serve as a tool for fortifying solidarity, understanding, and accountability on campuses today and in the future.