Antiracism & Decolonization in Archival Studies: Open Classroom Series

Join us for the Fall 2022 edition of the open classroom series on antiracism and decolonization in the information professions, with a focus on archival studies in the 2022-2023 academic year.

Registration is free and open to all!

Check out the full details here!

The Fall 2022 open classrooms are hosted at the University of Manitoba’s History Department, sponsored by Dalhousie’s School of Information Management and CUNY’s Archival Technologies Lab, and supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. They are are taking place as part of graduate courses taught by Dr. Jamila Ghaddar, which are: HIST7372 History of Archiving & Archival Records (Fall 2022) at the University of Manitoba’s History Department, and INFO6370 Records Management (Winter 2023) at Dalhousie University’s School of Information Management.

CLASSROOM SCHEDULE & DETAILS:

Please note that CDST is local Winnipeg time and ADST is local Halifax time.

Open Classroom #1 - Wednesday, October 26 at 11:30am CDST / 1:30pm ADST

“Race, Capital & Empire: Placing Hilary Jenkinson into History,” a presentation by Riley Linebaugh (PhD), Research Associate, Leibniz Institute for European History.

Abstract: This presentation provides a critical biography of Hilary Jenkinson with a focus on his 1912 publication, “The Records of the English African Companies,” his participation in the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives section during WWII, and his 1948 memo on colonial archives. Read more

Open Clssroom #2 - Wednesday, November 16 at 11:30am CDST / 1:30pm ADST

“Displaced Archives, Repatriation & the Vienna Convention: Global South Perspectives,” a panel with Dr. Ellen Namhila (Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Namibia), Dr. Nathan Mnjama (Professor, Department of Library & Information Studies, University of Botswana), and Dr. James Lowry (Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Library & Information Studies, CUNY). Co-hosted with CUNY’s Archival Technologies Lab.

Abstract: Contestation over archival access and ownership have been a feature of the relationship between European countries and their former colonies in Africa and Asia because records displaced to Europe in the context of Third World political decolonization in the mid-20th century have rarely been repatriated. How to imagine a future in which such archival legacies of colonialism are redressed? This open classroom explores this question with renowned personalities and leading experts. Read more

Open Classroom #3 - Wednesday, December 7 at 11:30am CDST / 1:30pm ADST

“Multiple Provenance, Indigenous Data Sovereignty & Archival Protocols,” a conversation with Dr. Vanessa Watts (Assistant Professor of Sociology and Indigenous Studies, McMaster University) and Krystal Payne (University of Winnipeg, Kishaadigeh Collaborative Research Centre). Co-hosted with Dr. Amber Dean, Professor of English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University.

Abstract: How can archivists and archivists be more responsive and accountable to Indigenous peoples and communities? This open classroom explores this question in relation to a variety of archival principles-based guiding documents, and the project based out of McMaster University, "The Challenge of Reconciliation: What We Can Learn from the Stories of the Hamilton Mountain Sanatorium and the Mohawk Institute Residential School.” Read more

Image: Foreign Policy illustration/1897 map of the British empire/Getty Images

This open classroom series is inspired and shaped by the writings and practices of Rabab Abdulhadi, bell hooks, Eve Tuck, Sherene Razack and Sandy Grande.