Speaking into Silences - Incite at Columbia University

Incubated Project

Speaking into Silences

Scene in the mountains of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. September 2017.

Against archives that valorize colonization and silence stories of resistance and response, gathering to listen to the life stories of the peoples of Puerto Rico is a radical act.

Speaking into Silences organized four mass-listening events across the Puerto Rican archipelago: on the west coast, in the mountainous interior, in an underserved neighborhood in San Juan, and on an island municipio. These events centered stories of surviving simultaneous stratified disasters—including hurricanes, earthquakes, political upheaval, economic depression, and the Covid-19 pandemic—within a context of colonial practices and institutionalized racism.

Community partners were empowered with funding, equipment, and training to record their own narratives. Support from Assembling Voices went toward organizing a day of mass-listening, activism, music, and food at community centers.

About the Team

  • 0
    Ricia Anne Chansky

    Ricia Anne Chansky, Ph.D. is a professor in the English Department at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez and the Director of the Oral History Lab @UPRM. Her work is focused on decolonial storytelling projects as a means of amplifying the voices of disaster survivors for the purpose of mitigating the climate crisis within the Puerto Rican archipelago and around the world.

More Projects

  • go to People, Power, and Planning
    People, Power, and Planning
    Building the capacities of Hungarian civil society organizations through tailored strategic planning and mentorship programs. Part of the Global Change Program
  • go to Boca Chica, Corazón Grande
    Boca Chica, Corazón Grande
    Against environmental and economic threats, documenting the history and geography of Boca Chica Beach through the eyes and memories of its community members. Part of Assembling Voices
  • go to Embodied Earth
    Embodied Earth
    Breaking through climate knowledge silos with collaborative, interactive public performances driven by research. Part of Assembling Voices
  • go to The Breakdown of Arctic Carbon
    The Breakdown of Arctic Carbon
    Creating new knowledge and provide critical insights into the ecology of the Arctic and the massive amount of carbon stored there. Part of the Breakdown/ (Re)generation Project