Your search

The concept of “collective” or “social” memory has assumed increasing prominence in the discourse of archivists over the past few decades. Archives are frequently characterized as crucial institutions of social memory, and many professional activities are considered forms of memory preservation. We present a systematic examination of the relationships between archives and collective memory as articulated in the English-language archival literature. We first identify the major themes...

People from different weak groups struggling for justice may be dependent on archive material to document and substantiate their claims. In this paper I discuss the question of to what extent we as archivists are aware of our role as rulers of the archives. As an example, I use the Norwegian war children and the importance of information from the archives of the Norwegian National Archives for them both individually and as a group in society. I also discuss how we as Civil Servants and...

Almost a decade following the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, most Iraqi state documents stemming from Saddam Hussein's regime remain in the possession of the United States. U.S. military forces seized the majority of them in the invasion and occupation for intelligence exploitation, approximately a hundred pages of records and thousands of audio- and videotapes from Hussein's various bureaucracies of repression. Another 5.5 million pages of secret police files chronicling Hussein's Anfal...

This paper examines four economic and political themes that are relevant to international heritage preservation and archives efforts. Collaborations that involve multiple players such as industrialized nations, international heritage organizations, and postcolonial or economically developing regions will inevitably be laden with sociopolitical and economic entanglements that affect preservation outcomes and modern cultural development. Drawing on the Timbuktu Manuscripts Project in Mali for...

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is the preeminent international instrument elaborating on the rights of Indigenous peoples. It contains the minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of Indigenous peoples all over the world. As a consequence, the Declaration provides a blueprint for Indigenous peoples, governments and other third parties around the world to respect the rights and roles of Indigenous peoples within society. At its core, the...

The phrase “peace, order and good government,” common to the definition of federal powers in both the Australian and the Canadian constitutions, has defined the relationship of the Crown and the citizen for more than five centuries. The archival record is fundamental to that relationship, providing its authoritative legal basis, documenting its evolution and continuing as a reminder of both our proudest achievements and our most dismal failures as a society. This paper reflects on the role...

This article highlights the extent to which international law has changed rapidly in recent years in relation to the rights of Indigenous peoples generally, and in particular how this impacts upon the legal status of traditional knowledge and culture. It reviews the recognition of the unique legal status of Māori in Aotearoa and Aboriginal peoples in Canada in relation to selfdetermination and how their changing place within these nations are affecting the operations of museums, libraries...

This paper deals with issues of power and silencing of the “Other” within colonial archives, particularly regarding British East India Company records of an attempted mutiny of Bengali sepoys and Javanese aristocrats in 1815, now housed in the India Office Records of the British Library. It recommends incorporating a postcolonial approach and reading records against the grain in order to recover these marginalized voices. The body of this paper is broken into three sections. The first...

Abstract1. Through an exchange between members of community-based organizations that document human rights violations in northwest Colombia and northern Uganda

This paper reviews important aspects of the literature on collective memory, how some of these concerns have been expressed in archives, and contemplates how these issues relate to the politically transformative South African post-apartheid context. It highlights the erosion of boundaries between archives, museums, and other less-institutionalized memory projects in post-apartheid South Africa. It notes ways in which archival activity is taking place outside of traditional archives, as part...

On 22 April 2008, five years after the American invasion of Iraq, the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) issued a joint statement calling for American authorities to repatriate millions of captured intelligence documents and intervene with the “government of Kurdistan” to return the Iraqi Anfal files to the Iraq National Library and Archive in Baghdad. The Anfal files, which chronicle Iraq’s genocide against the Kurds during the mid- to...

(2010) Barrera. Archival Science. Abstract The paper discusses some archival issues that emerged during a judicial investigation carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office\nof Rome (Italy) regarding h...

For better or for worse, heritage is a key terrain on which societal conflicts are expressed. Instead of treating conflict over heritage sites defensively, shielding them from attack, we can take proactive steps to offer heritage sites as resources for addressing contested social questions. This article explores strategies used around the world by ‘Sites of Conscience’– heritage sites that foster dialogue on contemporary issues – to help communities to confront the questions that divide them.

This paper examines the implications of the context of creation on the current and potential future uses of the records produced by the Comissao de Acolhimento, Verdade e Reconciliacao de Timor-Leste (Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation, or CAVR). Given that the CAVR relied heavily on the testimony of the East Timorese people in its investigations that addressed a 25-year period, this paper considers the nature of memory and the role it played in creating and shaping the CAVR...

This paper aims to explore initiatives in dealing with the past in South East Europe, particularly with regard to archives, and to reflect on discussions about the documentation of atrocities and sufferings and the shift from war to peace, ongoing in the Balkan countries affected by the 1991–1999 wars while the countries are still struggling to find the best way(s) to deal with the past and its consequences. Transitional justice may be framed as opening up different approaches to create...

The article presents the various points of view regarding the definitions and uses of records and archives amongst the recordkeeping scholarly and practitioner communities. It demonstrates that whereas records and archives are useful tools for facilitating transparency, accountability and good governance in society, they could be used as instruments of repression and human rights abuses. Attempts made by various regimes to destroy evidence documented in records to conceal actions related to...