Theories of the Archive
Embark on a journey with us as we discover the archives.
Through the course of this tutorial we will work together to investigate and collaborate to create an archive of archives. What does the archive mean to you?Readings
- Diana Taylor, "Save As... Knowledge and Transmission in the Age of Digital Technologies"
- Jacques Derrida, excerpt from Archive Fever
- Overview of various theories of the archive (Jacques Derrida, Ann Stoler, Ann Cvetkovich, Michel Foucault, Wolfgang Ernst, etc.)
Brainstorming "the archive"
In our first session we began by brainstorming and thinking about the definition of the archive. Together we came up with thoughts and questions that came to mind regarding our first encounters and ideas surrounding the archive.Themes
- Access- The level of access that an archive has is determined by those who create, guard and maintain the archive.
- Preservation- How are the ideas of archive and preservation connected? What steps need to be taken so that the archived is preserved for centuries to come?
- Location- The location of the archive is also important. Does it have a physical location? If so, what does it look like? How does the physical location contribute to the archive?
- Memory
- Technology
- Embodiment
- Presence/Absence- What is the significance behind what we choose to include in the archive and what we choose to eliminate or rather not include. There is undoubtedly a great weight placed on what the presence of materials in the archive but what weight does the absence of materials hold? In the creation of the archive we must be sensitive to the impact of what becomes archived, what does not and how both of these effect the shape of the archive.
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 Derrida
Key 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?
