Introducing critical race theory to archival discourse: getting the conversation started

Abstract

This article introduces the application of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to archival discourse in order to demonstrate how such a critical and analytical approach can help identify and raise social and professional consciousness of implicit racial bias. To demonstrate the potential of CRT, the paper discusses how the terminology and methodological structures of CRT might be applied to some aspects of archival theory and practice. The paper concludes that CRT can contribute to a diversified archival epistemology that can influence the creation of collective and institutional memories that impact underrepresented and disenfranchised populations and the development of their identities.

Critical Directions for Archival Approaches to Social Justice

“…Thus, it is helpful to begin by examining how social justice is defined within the archival studies literature. Anthony Dunbar (2006), drawing upon the work of Lee Anne Bell (1997), first offered a definition of social justice for the archival audience. Dunbar frames social justice within a series of four overlapping goals:…”

“…Instead, more scholarly and professional attention needs to be paid to white privilege as an overarching construct that shapes virtually every aspect of the archival endeavor, from the assumptions upon which basic concepts in archival education are built to the power structures that enable the creation of records and the ongoing maintenance of archival systems and institutions. Here, critical race theory's framework for interrogating, challenging, and eliminating the predominance of white supremacy can provide a crucial way forward (Dunbar 2006). Work on archival pluralism has uncovered the ways in which foundational archival concepts (such as record, provenance, and evidence) are based in dominant Western ontologies and epistemologies, but academic calls for archival pluralism have yet to be taken up in a sustained and meaningful way by the profession.…”

Prototyping collaborative (co-)archiving practices: From archival appraisal to co-archival facilitation

“…How to create conditions for accessing intangible heritage resources beyond traditional methods? 1 For more information about the project, see: livingarchives.mah.se…”

Being Assumed Not to Be: A Critique of Whiteness as an Archival Imperative

“…the importance of raising the collective social consciousness of the archival field about racial issues as these apply to establishing alternative discussions or counter-narratives within the archival discourse." 7 Primarily focused on exploring the contributions of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to this process, Dunbar also addressed the intersecting contributions of social justice to this expanding dialogue and its role in bridging ". .…”

“…8 In an effort to increase the perspectives of people of color in legal discourse, CRT also engenders a discussion of manifestations of privilege in "dominant" culture and, specifically, how whiteness functions as a "generic or colorblind norm" whose status as a norm indicates privilege itself. 9 Indeed, "[w]hiteness provides advantages of both social capital and institutionally structured control" 10 that are not often acknowledged, particularly by those who directly benefit from them, and supports notions of neutrality, meritocracy, objectivity, and color-blindness that serve to further undermine the subjectivity of people of color. 11 As George Lipsitz also pointed out, whiteness is an "unmarked category" that manifests a ".…”