Past Event

Archives, coloniality and the neoliberal agenda

20 July 2023 12:30–14:00

Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Room 121

North American archives and special collections preserve and create access to cultural heritage materials often perpetuating a colonial and imperialist style of record keeping that can dehumanize underrepresented and marginalized individuals.

Today progressive librarians and archivists strive to decolonize and repair offensive, legacy record keeping and unethical acquisition practices, improving these spaces to be more representative and respectful of their user communities. There have also been initiatives in the past where feminist activists produced successful inclusive and diverse spaces that encouraged community participation and repositioned the archives as a knowledge commons for the active creation and preservation of feminist culture.

The Newcomb Archives and Robbert Vorhoff Collection represents a feminist initiative to preserve Newcomb College’s presence within the historically male-dominated Tulane University.

This talk explores current approaches to ethical collection management in legacy collections as well as how the seepage of the neoliberal agenda into contemporary collections may become harmful as the commodification and enclosure of information intensifies.

Speaker

Bernadette Floresca is the Archivist for Collection Management and Digital Preservation at Newcomb Archives and Vorhoff Collection at Newcomb Institute. Bernadette holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Sculpture, a Master of Library and Information Science, and a Graduate Certificate in Archives and Special Collections from the University of Southern Mississippi, as well as a Master of Liberal Arts (with an interdisciplinary focus on gender, sexuality, and art) from Tulane University’s School of Professional Advancement.

Bernadette is a Certified Archivist via the Academy of Certified Archivists and has recently become a National Heritage Responder via the American Institute for Conservation/FAIC. Research interests include decolonizing the archives, improving the use of inclusive and reparative descriptions in special collections, utilizing the archives as a site for activism, and feminist reflections of the abject in American pop culture. Bernadette strives to emphasize the importance of creative community, art, and DIY activism as crucial components of feminist culture.

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This event is brought to you by Future Natures which explores the global terrain and emergent ecologies of commoning, beyond enclosure, through stories, arts and research.

Accessibility

If you are attending in person, then IDS Room 121 is on the 1st floor of the IDS building. There is a lift available and you should press floor 1 to get to the room.

If you have any accessibility needs for this event then please contact [email protected] as soon as possible so we can accommodate you.

Key contacts

Nathan Oxley

Impact Communications and Engagement Officer

n.oxley@ids.ac.uk

+44 (0)1273 915826

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Region
United States

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