Neutrality, social justice and the obligations of archival education and educators in the twenty-first century

Abstract

Codes of ethics around the globe exhort archivists to neutrality so that they and their repositories will be trusted by records creators, the general public, and posterity to be impartial in their actions. However, archival neutrality is increasingly viewed as a controversial stance for a profession that is situated in the midst of the politics of memory. Archival educators have been prominent among those calling for the profession to address more directly the cultural and ethical dimensions of the role played by archives and records in society. This paper contemplates how archival neutrality and social justice concerns can surface within the context of archival education. Drawing upon experiences of the Department of Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), it suggests pedagogical approaches for raising and addressing ethics and diversity issues within a social justice framework, and for encouraging students, as future practitioners and scholars, to engage critically, reflexively, and meaningfully with these issues in ways that support the public trust in archives and the archival profession.

Decolonizing archival methodology: Combating hegemony and moving towards a collaborative archival environment

“…This is partially due to the fact that archival institutions have dodged public scrutiny more than other institutions concerned with collective memory such as museums, monuments, galleries, and libraries (Cook, 1997;Gilliland, 2011). A paternalistic outlook, whether intentional or not, has remained active, and "many [archival institutions] have played central roles in promoting particular historical narratives and sustaining dominant power structures" (Gilliland, 2011, p. 195).…”

“…2002; Gilliland, 2011;Jimerson, 2003Jimerson, , 2007Morphy, 2014;O'Neal, 2014O'Neal, , 2015Withey, 2015)-challenges still exist for many potential Indigenous students. Many scholarships targeted to Indigenous students have the stipulation that applicants must be from a federally recognized tribe, which accounts for only a fraction of those who identify as Native American (Patterson, 2000).…”

Critical Directions for Archival Approaches to Social Justice

“…Although the term has been widely adopted in the fields of education and anthropology, there is still some resistance to the term in archival studies (Gilliland 2011). In 2013, for example, a debate erupted at the Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting and in the pages of American Archivist over the political nature of social justice work, with Mark Greene (2013) arguing that archivists can best fulfill their professional obligations by remaining neutral and Jimerson (2013) asserting that social justice is a personal, rather than professional, obligation.…”

Ethics and social responsibility in archival institutions: Elements to consider

“…This approach helps to establish archivists' neutrality and impartiality, while their profession is in the midst of disputes over policies on memory (Gilliland, 2011). These professional ethical codes emphasize staff conduct and values; -how to promote access, understand historical records, preserve primary sources; -commitment to protecting records; -social responsibility towards employers; -defense of cultural heritage; -professional judgment in appraising, acquiring, and processing collections of records to select and maintain; -etc.…”