ReConnect/ReCollect: Reparative Connections to Philippine Collections

September 1, 2021 – December 31, 2023

ReConnect/ReCollect: Reparative Connections to Philippine Collections at the University of Michigan will examine the accumulation of some of the largest Philippine archival, cultural and natural history collections in North America. The project will take up questions of colonial complicity in the formation of these collections and will develop models for culturally responsive and historically minded stewardship of Philippine materials at the University and beyond. Anticipated outcomes include a full inventory of U-M’s Philippine collections, a ReCollections Lab for iterative and inclusive community engagement, and the creation of a multi-platform toolkit for reparative actions. 

Team members include PI (Year 1) Deirdre de la Cruz (Associate Professor, Asian Languages and Cultures and Department of History; and Director, Anthropology and History Program); PI (Year 2) Ricky Punzalan (Associate Professor, School of Information); Kerstin Barndt (Associate Professor, German Languages and Literature, and Director, Museum Studies Program); Nancy Bartlett (Associate Director, Bentley Historical Library); Martha O’Hara Conway (Director, University of Michigan Library Special Collections Research Center); and Jim Moss (Collections Manager, UM Museum of Anthropological Archaeology).

Graduate students include Robert Diaz (History), Chad Kamen (SI – supported by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services), Emily Na (American Culture), Sony Prosper (SI), Kristi Rhead (Anthropology and History), and Nicholas Trudeau (Anthropology/UM Museum of Anthropological Archaeology).

Image: Maia Cruz Palileo, Amigo by Day, 2019. Private Collection, Bedford, New York. Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago.