Since Namibian independence in 1990, historians have increasingly made use of Namibian archives to explore the history of the German and South African occupation. Researching the recent past is,... Show moreSince Namibian independence in 1990, historians have increasingly made use of Namibian archives to explore the history of the German and South African occupation. Researching the recent past is, however, much more difficult, considering the absence of a SWAPO archive and an embargo on governmental files of thirty years. But now, thirty years after independence, the files from the postcolonial administrations are set to gradually open up. In anticipation of this new chapter of Namibian history, this article examines the state of various archives in Namibia and offers a number of observations that may be of use to scholars who are interested in consulting them.Résumé: Depuis l’indépendance de la Namibie en 1990, les historiens ont de plus en plus utilisé les archives namibiennes pour explorer l’histoire de l’occupation allemande et sud-africaine. La recherche du passé récent est cependant beaucoup plus difficile, compte tenu de l’absence d’archives de la SWAPO et l’embargo fait sur les archives gouvernementales de moins de trente ans. Mais aujourd’hui, trente ans après l’indépendance, les dossiers des administrations postcoloniales sont amenés à s’ouvrir progressivement. En prévision de ce nouveau chapitre de l’histoire namibienne, cet article examine l’état de diverses archives en Namibie et offre un certain nombre d’observations pouvant être utiles aux chercheurs intéressés à les consulter. Show less
Namibia was one of the final African states to gain independence, a political transformation which was the outcome of a decades-long liberation struggle. The global dimension of the struggle has... Show moreNamibia was one of the final African states to gain independence, a political transformation which was the outcome of a decades-long liberation struggle. The global dimension of the struggle has been duly recognised by generations of historians. As a result, archival materials related to this era - as well as the colonial ones preceding it – are to be found all over the world. Through a discussion of relevant archival collections pertaining to Namibian history - though located outside the boundaries of the Republic of Namibia – this article considers the global archival paper trail of Namibian colonisation and decolonisation. We shed light on the origins of various collections located in South Africa, Europe, North America, and beyond in order to reveal the ways in which the utilisation of such global archivalia can shape our understanding of Namibian decolonisation. This applies to government archives, private collections, institutional solidarity collections, as well as those of international organisations. We then delve into some of the promises and pitfalls of the digitisation of archival records, noting issues of ethics and methodology. Ultimately, we hold that historians must balance both internal and external Namibiana archivalia in crafting our arguments about the past, and we must balance both the merits and demerits of the digital turn in historical research. Show less
Abstract:This article examines the project to digitize and preserve the archives of the Mineworkers’ Union of Zambia and has two aims. The first aim is to discuss the process of cataloguing and... Show moreAbstract:This article examines the project to digitize and preserve the archives of the Mineworkers’ Union of Zambia and has two aims. The first aim is to discuss the process of cataloguing and digitizing an archive that has undergone significant deterioration, and the theoretical and practical challenges to achieving this. The second aim is to relate making this archive more accessible to questions of knowledge production. Despite its limitations, the value of this archive is that it is primarily composed of documents produced by Africans about the world as they saw it. These are not the records of external powers, colonial officials, or those studying African peoples.Résumé:Cet article examine le projet de numérisation et de conservation des archives du Syndicat des mineurs de Zambie et poursuit deux objectifs. Le premier objectif est de discuter du processus de catalogage et de numérisation d’archives qui ont subi une détérioration significative et d’identifier les défis théoriques et pratiques pour y parvenir. Le deuxième objectif est de relier la mise en accessibilité de ces archives à des questions de production de connaissances. Malgré ses limites, la valeur de ces archives est qu’elles sont principalement composées de documents produits par des Africains sur le monde tel qu’ils l’ont vu. Ce ne sont pas les archives des puissances extérieures, des fonctionnaires coloniaux ou de ceux qui étudient les peuples africains. Show less
Unlike most city histories, this book focuses exclusively on the city’s connections with colonialism and slavery. Rotterdam, the second-largest Dutch city, is one of Europe’s leading ports. Its... Show moreUnlike most city histories, this book focuses exclusively on the city’s connections with colonialism and slavery. Rotterdam, the second-largest Dutch city, is one of Europe’s leading ports. Its maritime expansion was intrinsically linked to Dutch colonialism, including slave trading and colonial slavery in the Americas, Africa and Asia. This painful history sits uneasily with the city’s modern cosmopolitan image and its large population of ‘new Rotterdammers’ with colonial roots. The present volume provides a summary of the research that has documented this history, with chapters on the contribution of colonial trade to economic development; the city’s involvement in slavery; the role of the urban political elites; the impact on urban development and architecture; the ‘ethical impulse’; colonial art and ethnographic collections; colonial and postcolonial migration; and finally the resonance of this history in postcolonial Rotterdam. Show less
This multidisciplinary volume brings together scholars and writers who try to come to terms with the histories and legacies of European slavery in the Indian Ocean. The volume discusses a variety... Show moreThis multidisciplinary volume brings together scholars and writers who try to come to terms with the histories and legacies of European slavery in the Indian Ocean. The volume discusses a variety of qualitative data on the experience of being a slave in order to recover ordinary lives and, crucially, to place this experience in its Asian local context. Building on the rich scholarship on the slave trade, this volume offers a unique perspective that embraces the origin and afterlife of enslavement as well as the imaginaries and representations of slaves rather than the trade in slaves itself. Show less
This conversation takes Katrine Dirckinck-Holmfeld’s installation and perfor- mative presentation The Christmas Report & Other Fragments (2017) as a start- ing point to discuss legibility in... Show moreThis conversation takes Katrine Dirckinck-Holmfeld’s installation and perfor- mative presentation The Christmas Report & Other Fragments (2017) as a start- ing point to discuss legibility in relation to the mass digitization of the colonial archives in Denmark. To gain access to the archive, Dirckinck-Holmfeld draws on the figure of the Data Thief, inspired by The Black Audio Film Collective, in an attempt to unearth and excel the vulnerabilities and ethical dilemmas at the heart of today’s data desire. The Data Thief, Dirckinck-Holmfeld claims in conversation with Pepita Hesselberth, teaches us to attune to the noise, to the sonorous, affective and textural dimensions of the archive. It compels us to create assemblages of enunciation that cut across semiotic and machinic flows, and invites us to nourish a relationship to time where the past keeps enfolding on itself in the present. This way, she concludes, it demands us to stay in and with the discomfort, and to stay in the cybernetic fold of radical, creative, decolonial and technological reimagination. Show less
This dissertation tests the universal suitability of the records continuum model by using two cases from the decolonization of Southeast Asia. The continuum model is a new model of records... Show moreThis dissertation tests the universal suitability of the records continuum model by using two cases from the decolonization of Southeast Asia. The continuum model is a new model of records visualization invented in the 1990s that sees records as free to move throughout four ‘dimensions’ rather than in a linear direction. The first case study is the Djogdja Documenten, which are documents seized from Indonesia by the Dutch military during Indonesia's struggle for independence. The second case is the Migrated Archives. This is a group of records created by the British colonial government and sent to London, where the records were hidden for fifty years. I attempt to place each case on the continuum model, mapping each action to a corresponding dimension. In the case of the Migrated Archives, the glaring omission from the continuum model of places in between dimensions where records can get trapped or lost is seen. I rectify this through the creation of the shadow continuum. In the shadow continuum records proceed, unseen, through the dimensions of the continuum model. Whether a record is in the shadow continuum or not is based on the existence of 'traces' of its existence in the already publically accessible archive. Show less
