Abstract: Can matter (objects, bodies and other) matter even when it is gone, absent, effaced, unavailable to us as researchers, or was possibly never meant to be there in the first place? How do we as historians and theorists engage with historical texts or ethnographic accounts that speak to such absences and erasures, or give voice to objects and bodies that are intentionally or unintentionally missing, and yet, are very much present, intelligible, concrete, and even abundant in our source materials? Set around four case studies ranging from Late Antiquity to current times, this panel explores questions related to absence and erasure, and things that matter.

Panel discussion featuring Ra’anan Boustan (Associate Professor, History, University of California, Los Angeles), Ismail Alatas (Ph.D. Candidate, Anthropology and History, University of Michigan), Jonathan Brack (Ph.D. Candidate, History, University of Michigan), Michail Kitsos (Ph.D. Program, Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan), Shira Schwartz (Ph.D. Program, Comparative Literature, University of Michigan), Rachel Neis (panel chair; Associate Professor, History, Judaic Studies, Law, University of Michigan).

Free and open to the public. Lunch provided.

This event is part of the Friday Series of the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies. It is made possible by a generous contribution from Kenneth and Frances Aftel Eisenberg.