2026 Archival Research Lecture with Dr. Karen Johnson In-Person
Needles in Haystacks: What Studying Old Documents Can Teach us About Living Here and Now
In the 2026 Archival Research Lecture, Wheaton history faculty member Karen Johnson asks, "Why spend time poring over diaries, letters, and meeting minutes, searching for a needle in a haystacks when you're not even sure what the needle looks like?" Drawing on her research on civil rights leader John Perkins in Wheaton's archives and the exhilarating, though sometimes unsettling, experience of bringing students face-to-face with original sources, history faculty member Dr. Johnson argues that archives offer something we desperately need. Encountering people made in God's image, who like us were capable of great evil and great good, loosens the grip of our assumptions and draws us into the diversity of God's Kingdom. It can also teach us to love our places well and live more faithfully here and now.
- Date:
- Thursday, November 12, 2026
- Time:
- 7:00pm - 8:30pm
- Time Zone:
- Central Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- Bakke Auditorium, Wade Center
- Categories:
- Wheaton Archives & Special Collections