Call for Papers for the Edited Book
(Post)Colonial Archives: Commemoration, Preservation, and Erasure
Deadline for abstracts : 31 May 2024
Contact email: colonialarchives2024@gmail.com
Colonial archives, as repositories of historical records curated and shaped by powerful individuals and imperial states, stand as intricate sites of complex and contested meanings. Often reflecting the biases and interests of a select echelon, these archives craft narratives that spotlight the perspectives of the privileged few, determining what is documented, remembered, and forgotten. The preservation, organisation, cataloguing, and interpretation further shapes the historical discourse emanating from these archives. Despite being perceived as valuable repositories of public knowledge, accessing archives is a nuanced process marked by limitations on acquisition and availability. While some archives may be accessed with prior permission, a substantial corpus of 'sensitive' or highly confidential documents remain beyond reach, subject to restricted access or complete prohibition. Consequently, archives serve as fertile terrain for concealment, obfuscation, and suppression, both intentionally and unintentionally.
Discussions surrounding archive usage, accessibility, and declassification have always been fraught in France, but these debates intensified on 15 January 2020. Claire Landais, the secretary-general of Defence and National Security, implemented a policy stipulating that documents classified as 'secret' or 'top secret' from the period of 1940 to 1970, including those over 50 years old, must undergo formal declassification by their original agency prior to public dissemination. This decision significantly impacted access to archival materials related to various historical events, including military divisions operating during World War II (1940-1945), the First Indochina War (1940-1956), and the Algerian War of Independence (1940-1964). Widespread opposition ensued and the establishment of a new cumbersome system required researchers to secure advance reservations and permission from the Service Historique de la Défense (Defence Historical Service) to access historical documents. In March 2021, more than a year later, French President Emmanuel Macron announced an expedited declassification process for archives over 50 years old, aimed at addressing France's colonial past. The full implications of this announcement remain uncertain, leaving the question of unrestricted archival access unresolved and in limbo.
Meanwhile, access to archives in the United Kingdom poses its own challenges. In 2022, the United Kingdom's National Archives restricted public access to the 'migrated archives' collection, an act that critics have interpreted as strategic concealment by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This measure is widely regarded as an attempt to veil the UK's historical colonial misconduct and to protect its reputation as a responsible state actor. The 'migrated archives' are documents from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office related to 37 former British colonies at the time of their independence. The existence of these records was denied for an extended period and remained undisclosed until they were deposited in the National Archives in 2012. Activists, particularly from Eastern and Southern Africa, have been advocating for the repatriation of records appropriated by the British government since 1969. Despite their efforts, they have been consistently met with responses ranging from non-engagement to outright denial.
This call for papers is an invitation to scholars to critically examine (post)colonial archives in Francophone and Anglophone contexts, with a focus on the themes of commemoration, preservation, and historical erasure. We encourage comparative analyses and welcome contributions that interrogate the challenges of archival access, the impact of declassification policies, and the broader implications for historical understanding.
Please submit a short biography and a 300-word abstract in English by 31 May 2024. Full drafts of approx. 7000 words will be due in December 2024. We are considering Routledge Studies in Archives Book Series for this edited volume. Interested participants may contact co-editors Dr Sara Mechkarini, Dr Dega Rutherford and Dr Antonia Wimbush at colonialarchives2024@gmail.com.