Laborers and artisans contribute to the building of the world we currently live in, but they mostly remain invisible and silent in historical records. This omission is compounded by social hierarchies, colonial consequences, and a lack of written or archaeological evidence that illuminate their identities and roles.

Scholars from different disciplines have engaged with the silencing of working people in archives, yet much remains to be done to close this narrative gap. This roundtable will examine the global absence of artisans and laborers in historical narratives, focusing on how their contributions to material culture have been systematically marginalized. The discussion will focus on questions about the identity and living experience of these laborers, particularly the ethical challenges they faced from various forms of suppression and displacement such as class inequity, gender issues, race, and slavery. Additionally, the conversation will extend to the broader social, political, economic, and cultural contexts that have shaped the absence of laborers, while exploring other fields of inquiry raised by the audience.

Participants from various departments at Pitt will share their own research interests and methodologies aimed at re-establishing the agency of laborers from the narrative absence. The event will contribute to a deeper understanding of how the silent voices of laborers continue to influence present-day social, political, and economic discussions around labor rights, inequality, and social justice. This event is part of the Center's series: "Silence in the Narrative: The Politics of Absence in Accounts of the Global Past." Learn more about the series here. RSVP Here! 

Participants: Nicole Constable (Anthropology), Jennifer Josten (History of Art and Architecture), Deirdre Madeleine Smith (History of Art and Architecture; Carnegie Museum of Natural History), Ruth Mostern (History). 

Discussant: Mina Rajagopalan (History of Art and Architecture)