Novak – Question 1
November 2015
1What does it mean for an archive to be, or to be made, “radical”?
Joy R. Novak
Collections Manager – Center for the Study of Political Graphics
¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 While I have heard the terms “radical archives” and “radical archiving” with increasing frequency in archival discourse, I have never seen “radical” clearly defined in this context. Because of this, I have come to understand “radical archives” quite broadly, as any practice, record, documentation, or collection that challenges archival traditions or standards.
¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 Although it falls under this definition, I have generally not used the term “radical” to define my own work. Given the human-rights focus of the collection in the Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG), I tend to use the term “archival activism,” which was a concept I also explored in my academic research. There has been significant scholarship exploring archives and activism, although much like the term “radical,” there is no clear definition of archival activism.1 From this discourse, I have assembled a broad understanding of it as proactive archival practice that promotes diversity, transparency, accountability, and social justice. Given this definition, I would argue there is significant overlap between “activism” and being “radical” in the context of archives. Most activist work in the archives would be considered “radical” as a proactive practice that seemingly contradicts the traditional understanding of archivists as objective custodians of records.2 However, I would make the distinction that not all “radical” archiving involves the social-justice focus of “activist” archiving. For example, a digital archive documenting non-traditional media, such as zines, may be considered a “radical archive.” Or, developing new experimental and interactive description and access systems for photo collections may be considered “radical archiving.” In these examples, the content or practice may be “radical,” although the collections or aims do not necessarily promote social-justice issues that I associate with “activist” archives or archiving.
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