2024 Winner: Kelsey Alejandra Moore
Dissertation Title: What the Dead Witnessed: Clearing Black Knowledges in Jim Crow South Carolina
Interview with Kelsey Alejandra Moore
Interview by M. Cooper Harriss, Religious Studies, Indiana University - Bloomington
About the dissertation:
How did you come across this topic?
We were impressed with the way that you blended a variety of methods and archives in telling this powerful story, including histories of technological and economic progress, cultural history, ecology, and Black religious studies. How did you develop this method, and what do you think it offers for scholars working in these fields—and maybe even for those working outside these fields?
Where do you see literature fitting into the relationship between materiality and metaphysics in your work?
You say that cemeteries are one of the most important archives for Black studies and Black religious studies. Can you elaborate on that?
One of the many effective aspects of this dissertation is the “Part and Parcel” chapter which tracks specific parcels of land and the people who inhabited them. Is there a particular story or part of a story you’d like to highlight?
One of your stated goals for the project is to aid the descendants of Santee-Cooper Basin residents in their efforts to uncover and preserve their local histories. Have you had the opportunity to share your work with these residents and if so, how has it been received?
What’s next for you?
What advice do you have for other dissertation writers?