‘To Be Able to Imagine Otherwise’: community archives and the importance of representation

摘要: Through data gleaned from semi-structured interviews with 17 community archives founders, volunteers and staff at 12 sites in Southern California, this paper develops a new tripartite framework for understanding the ontological, epistemological social impact of archives. Throughout, it reflects ways which communities marginalized by race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, gender political position experience both profoundly negative affective consequences absence misrepresentation mainstream media (which calls ‘symbolic annihilation’) positive effect complex autonomous forms representation community-driven terms ‘representational belonging’).