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John Drabinski hosts The Black Studies Podcast , a Mellon grant-sponsored series of conversations exploring the history of the field. The podcast features a diverse group of activists and scholars who discuss the cultural and political significance of Black Studies and its critical methodologies. Joseph was interviewed for her role as an associate professor in the history and African American studies departments. In addition to numerous reviews and scholarly essays, she is completing a book titled Invisibly Visible: A Community History of Haitians in Chicago , which focuses on the local Haitian diaspora.

“I have loved history for as long as I can remember,” Joseph says in the podcast, recounting a moment in 3rd or 4th grade when she learned about the Lost Colony fo Roanoke. She recalls her teacher saying, “We just don’t know what happened to them.” Joseph recalls thinking: “What do you mean we don’t know what happened? I must know more!”

That lesson sparked Joseph to redefine history as a study that sometimes has unanswered questions. For her PhD work, Joseph felt drawn to continue her study of Black people and “to look for answers to questions that were very important to me but didn’t seem to be the thing that a lot of people wanted to talk about” or were not covered in her American history classes, Joseph said.

“It’s still a joy and a privilege to be able to do this work and to study folks who oftentimes the archives say don’t matter or their stories are not important or are not saved at all. A lot of my work is about recovering and honoring Black stories in the ways that I can,” she said. 

Listen to the full podcast here. 

Related Links: 

• Explore the   Department of African American Studies  and the Department of History
• Meet Associate Professor   Courtney Joseph