My research question includes an inherent assumption – that there are structural biases in the archives and collections at UAL.
While the scope of my project does not include exploring this subject in its full complexity, this idea is the basis and background to my question. Therefore some foundational reading and consolidation of this idea was required – with this being a topic I have previously researched ad written on (Grout, 2019). In my reading I aimed to develop this and inform my research with ideas and potential solutions from the critical archive studies sphere.
Archive theorists and practitioners have discussed the ways in which archives are are tools of oppression since the early 2000s (Schwartz and Cook), and more recently are also confronting the ways in which they can also be used as tools for liberation. Caswell, Punzalan and Sangwand broadly define critical archival studies as approaches which ” (1) explain what is unjust with the current state of archival research and practice, (2) posit practical goals for how such research and practice can and should change, and/or (3) provide the norms for such critique” (2017, p.2).
These discussions have intersected with other social movements, such as: critical race studies (Williams and Drake, 2017; Lowry, 2019; ) feminism (Cifor and Wood, 2017; Moravec, 2017; Caswell and Cifor, 2016; ), queer theory (Watts, 2018; ) and disability studies (Brilmyer, 2018; Brownlee-Chapman et. al, 2018; ) to interrogate the role of archives and (re)present them as a tool for social justice. This research has emphasised the need to address imbalances of power, to support the plurality of voices, to create open and collaborative spaces and to generate ‘radical empathy’ (Caswell and Cifor, 2016).
A critical approach to using archives and collections is central to this work, reflecting on and historical legacies and critiquing current practices. It is within this space that my research project sits.
Key findings/ideas
To support my research, my reading around this topic reviews the way in which archives (and other heritage institutions) are using their collections and their practice as a tool for social justice. To summarise my finding form a literature review, Punzalan and Caswell argue that social justice is most apparent in the following areas:
- Inclusion of underrepresented and marginalized sectors of society
- Reinterpretation and expansion of archival concepts
- Development of community archives
- Rethinking archival education and training
- Efforts to document human rights violations
(Punzalan and Caswell 2016, p3)
Including underrepresented sectors of society refers to practices such as addressing ‘absences’ in the archive by collecting new material to fill in the gaps in holdings. As well as acknowledging the absences, and using these silences as a space for discussion.
Reinterpretation and expansion of archival concepts may relate to practices which re-presents existing material, based on new research or (re)interpretations, as well as fore fronting previously under-used material. And challenging the fundamental archive principles that favour dominant cultural perspectives.
Developing community archives refers to collecting at a grassroots level (Nyhan, 2015), which expands the understanding of who has the power to manage and control archival material.
For Caswell et al (2012), the rethinking of archival education (and training) includes concrete steps such as recruitment of students from marginalised communities, culturally sensitive classroom environments, pluralist approaches to diverse ontologies and epistemologies, and an ongoing analysis of power inside and outside of the classroom.
Finally, the role of records in seeking justice for victims of oppression must be acknowledged, with the purpose of archives as actively confronting power.
“archivization produces as much as it records” (Derrida 1995, p.17)
“collecting institutions award a social value to specific objects and thus prescribe historical consciousness” (Darian-Smith and Hamilton 1994, p.4)
References
Brilmyer, G. (2018) ‘Archival assemblages: applying disability studies’ political/relational model to archival description’, Archival Science 18, pp.95–118. Available at: http://gracenbrilmyer.com/Brilmyer-Archival%20Assemblages-2018.pdf (accessed 17 December 2021).
Brownlee-Chapman, C. et. al (2018) ‘Between speaking out in public and being person-centred: collaboratively designing an inclusive archive of learning disability history’, International Journal of Heritage Studies, 24:8, pp.889-903. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13527258.2017.1378901 (accessed 16 December 2021).
Caswell, M, Broman, G. Kirmer, J., Martin, L. and Sowry, N. (2012) ‘ Implementing a Social Justice Framework in an Introduction to Archives Course: Lessons from Both Sides of the Classroom’, InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies 8:2.
Caswell, M. and Cifor, M. (2016) From Human Rights to Feminist Ethics: Radical Empathy in the Archives. Available: https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/13557/14916 (accessed 2 December 2021)
Caswell, M. Punzalan, R. and Sangwand, T. (2017) Critical Archival Studies: An Introduction. Available at: https://journals.litwinbooks.com/index.php/jclis/article/view/50/30 (accessed 2 December 2021)
Cifor, M. and Wood. S (2017) ‘Critical Feminism in the Archives’, Critical Archival Studies 1:2. Available at: https://journals.litwinbooks.com/index.php/jclis/article/view/27/26 (accessed 17 November 2021)
Darian-Smith, K. and Hamilton, P. (1994) Memory and history in twentieth century Australia. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Derrida, J. (1995) ‘Archive fever: a freudian impression’, Diacritics,25(2), pp.9–63. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/465144?origin=crossref&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents (accessed 17 December 2021)
Drake, J. (2019) ‘Diversity’s discontents: in search of an archive of the oppressed’, Archives and Manuscripts, 47:2, pp. 270-279.
Grout, H (2019) ‘Archiving critically: exploring the communication of cultural biases’ Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, 4:1, pp.71-75 Available at: https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/120/214 (accessed 17 December 2021)
Hardiman, R. (2014) ‘Under the influence: the impact of philosophy on archives and records management’ in Brown, C. (ed.) Archives and recordkeeping: theory into practice. London: Facet Publishing, pp.171–276.
Lowry, J. (2019) ‘Radical empathy, the imaginary and affect in (post)colonial records: how to break out of international stalemates on displaced archives’, Archival Science 19, pp. 185–203. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10502-019-09305-z (accessed 17 December 2021)
Moravec, M. (2017) ‘Feminist Research Practices and Digital Archives’, Australian Feminist Studies, 32:91-92, pp, 186-201. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08164649.2017.1357006 (accessed 16 November 2021)
Nyhan, J. (2015) ‘Community archives in the UK: an overview’ Available at: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10072044/1/Nyhan%20eng%20chapter%20Archiwaspoleczne.Modelewspolpracyzpanstwem.pdf (accessed 17 December 2021)
Paquet Kinsley, R. (2016) ‘Inclusion in museums: a matter of social justice’,
Museum Management and Curatorship, 31:5, pp. 474-490. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2016.1211960 (accessed 17 December 2021)
Punzalan, R. and Caswell, M. (2016) ‘Critical Directions for Archival Approaches to Social Justice’. The Library Quarterly, 86:1. pp. 25-42. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/684145 (accessed 17 December 2021)
Schwartz, J. and Cook, T. (2002) ‘Archives, Records, and Power: The Making of Modern Memory’, Archival Science 2, pp. 1-19. Available at: https://journalofburmesescholarship.org/pprs/SchwartzCook-Archives.pdf (accessed 17 November 2021)
Watts, G. (2018) ‘Queer Lives in the Archives: Intelligibility and Forms of Memory’, disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 27:18. pp. 103-111. Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1438&context=disclosure (accessed 17 November 2021)
Williams, S. and Drake, J. (2017) ‘Power to the People: Documenting Police Violence in Cleveland’, Critical Archival Studies 1:2. Available at: https://journals.litwinbooks.com/index.php/jclis/article/view/33/25 (accessed 17 December 2021).