Theories of the Archive
Readings
- Diana Taylor, "Save As... Knowledge and Transmission in the Age of Digital Technologies"
- Jacques Derrida, excerpt from Archive Fever (in-class handout)
Brainstorming "the archive" in our first session:
Themes
- Access
- Preservation
- Location
- Memory
- Technology
- Embodiment
- Presence/Absence
Key Quotes
The concept of the archive shelters in itself, of course, this memory of the name arkhe. But it also shelters itself from this memory which it shelters: which comes down to saying also that it forgets it. - JACQUES DERRIDAKey Questions
- What is an archive?
- Why do we live in what Taylor calls "the so-called 'era of the archive'"?
- Who are archives for?
- What are some examples of different kinds of archives?
- What are the limits to an archive, whether physical, or figurative?
- What are the differences and similarities between institutional/historical/personal/community archives?
- What responsibility is in the hands of those creating the archive? How can the archives serve the future?
