Presented by Esperanza, Craig, and Dominique
1) Christen, Kimberly. “Opening Archives: Respectful Repatriation.” The American Archivist 74, no. 1 (2011)
- Kimberly Christen proposes a method of access and digitization that incorporates indigenous knowledge systems in the digital preservation of cultural heritage materials for tribes in the Pacific Northwest. She uses her experience as an archivist for the Plateau tribes to propose digital access as a placeholder to engage with indigenous cultural materials until the tribes are able to achieve repatriation of the physical items.
- Christen explains that the current issue in navigating an interactive digital asset management system is the lack of dual authorship between institutions housing indigenous cultural collections and the indigenous tribes in which these collections are about.
- “I examine the collaborative effort to leverage the Mukurtu archive software for the production of the Plateau Peoples’ Web Portal, an interactive, online archive and content management tool designed to allow Plateau peoples not only access to their cultural heritage collections at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, and beyond, but also to facilitate the reciprocal curation of these materials.”
- In using the Mukurtu software to create a system for dual authorship between institutional archivist and tribe members, Christen stresses that this system ultimately allows indigenous communities to contribute their expertise to public collections. In addition to this, tribal members are able to contribute to protocols for viewing, circulation and the reproduction of tribal material.
Discussion Questions:
- In her article Kimberly Christen states that the Mukurtu archive software will “facilitate the reciprocal curation” of indigenous cultural materials. How exactly are these tribes benefiting from this software in a way that will help them in obtaining repatriation of cultural materials?
- How is labor compensated for all parties involved with this project?
Resources:
Duarte, Marisa Elena, and Miranda Belarde-Lewis. 2015. “Imagining: Creating Spaces for Indigenous Ontologies.” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 677-702.
Sutherland, Tonia, and Alyssa Purcell. 2021. “A Weapon and a Tool: Decolonizing Description and Embracing Redescription as Liberatory Archival Praxis.” The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion 60-78.
2) Sumaya Kassim (2017), ‘The museum will not be decolonised’, Media Diversified.
- In Kassim’s blog post she documents her experience as a co-curator for an exhibition titled #ThePastIsNow at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) in which the exhibition focuses on utilizing the museum’s collection to “confront history in new and challenging ways.” She does just that and is brought to the question of whether a museum can be decolonized or if it would simply co-opt decoloniality.
- “Decolonising is deeper than just being represented. When projects and institutions proclaim a commitment to ‘diversity’, ‘inclusion’ or ‘decoloniality’ we need to attend to these claims with a critical eye. Decoloniality is a complex set of ideas – it requires complex processes, space, money, and time, otherwise it runs the risk of becoming another buzzword, like ‘diversity’.”
- Kassim explains how in the process of creating this exhibit, she and her fellow curators were exploited for their labor and did not receive adequate pay. In addition to this, they underwent multiple revisions of their exhibition text to ensure their writing aligned with the politics of the museum.
- In the end, Kassim explains that although there were adjustments, eventually she and the co-curators were able to create a space within a colonial institution for representation.
Discussion Questions:
- Do you think decolonizing or decolonization is the appropriate word for what Kassim is describing?
- At the end of her blog post Kassim writes: “ I’ll admit that there were tears. Even though the process was challenging, I couldn’t help it: we got Audre and Malcolm on those white museum walls.” Do you think Audre Lorde or Malcolm X would consent to being in museum spaces or would they seek to dismantle them?
Further reading:
“Decolonize (a verb) and decolonization (a noun) cannot easily be grafted onto pre-existing discourses/frameworks, even if they are critical, even if they are anti-racist, even if they are justice frameworks. The easy absorption, adoption, and transposing of decolonization is yet another form of settler appropriation. When we write about decolonization, we are not offering it as a metaphor; it is not an approximation of other experiences of oppression. Decolonization is not a swappable term for other things we want to do to improve our societies and schools. Decolonization doesn’t have a synonym.” –
3) Dawson, Aimee. “Can Digital Technologies Help to Resolve Debates on Restitution?” The Art Newspaper, 20 November 2023.
Dawson discusses the collective Looty’s use of Lidar and 3D Renderings to digitally repatriate the Hajar Rashid (more commonly known as the Rosetta Stone) as a means of introducing the ways in which digital technologies can assist in the restitution of cultural artifacts to their countries of origin.
- The laws regarding digital artifacts and digital ownership are still indeterminate.
- Digital Databases have helped provide a paper trail for the process of repatriation.
- The ease of digitization has made it increasingly difficult to police artifacts’ use making it easier for them to be used in data-mining and unethical processes.
- An “e-restitution” model could be used which would grant an artifact’s country of origin an NFT and legal title to the online object as a means of distributing royalties even if the physical artifact remains abroad.
- Countries of origin should be consulted during the process of digitization even if the artifacts reside abroad.
Discussion Questions:
- What steps could be put in place to prevent the use of artifacts in an unethical manner? Who determines what is unethical?
- Does the “e-restitution” model hurt the country of origin’s claim for the restitution of the physical artifact?
4) Gray, Jonathan. “Three Aspects of Data Worlds.” Krisis: Journal for Contemporary Philosophy. Issue 1: Data Activism, 2018.
With the rise of “data studies” and “critical data studies,” this article introduces the notion of “data worlds” and explores its relevance for the study and application of data. It defines the three aspects of data worlds as: (i) horizons of intelligibility, (ii) collective accomplishments, and (iii) transnational coordination.
- “Data” has become an important keyword in contemporary life. It is seen as: a lucrative new business asset, an instrument of political reform, a resource for activists and journalists, as well as a violation of privacy and displacement of other issues and experiences.
- The notion of “data worlds” refers to two prominent forms of data politics: “data liberation,” which is widely associated with hacker culture and freeing information from institutions and corporations, and “data protection,” which emphasizes the protection of personal information from state, corporate and other actors.
- Horizons of Intelligibility – This aspect of “data worlds” draws on philosophical ideas about worlds, worlding and world making to look at how things are sayable, knowable, intelligible and experienceable through data. Its asks what are the worldmaking capabilities of data infrastructures? Can these infrastructures provide the conditions for seeing and knowing collective life?
- Collective Accomplishments – This aspect of “data worlds” draws on a sociological tradition of studying social institutions or “social worlds.” This aspect asks who is attempting to make sense of this data? In what manner is the public involved in data worlds?
- Transnational Coordination – This aspect of “data worlds” draws on the sociology of globalizations and is concerned with transnational world-making. It asks how data infrastructures are implicated in globalization? Its ask what kinds of transnational alliances and circuits are being formed and to what end?
Discussion Questions:
1. What are some possible consequences of what economist Joseph Stiglitz calls the “default position” in information policy in the US, which sees the redistribution of “data work” from the public sector to the private sector?
2. How is public sector data different than “big data” generated by major tech companies? or data generated by NGOs and other groups of civil society?
3. What are some possible consequences of the international alignment of systems and standards for the management of public finances?
4.What are some examples of relevant initiatives by librarians and data scientists to establish international standards?
5) Towards futures of academic community, knowledge production, digital play: Introducing Electric Marronage
- Wallach discusses Electric Marronage (EM) as an online space created by a group of women of color, scholars, and graduate students who see themselves as fugitives in the context of academia, where being authentically Black often means living in a state of resistance. EM serves as a digital collective and a platform for creative expression, breaking through academic confines through various mediums such as photos, videos, poems, and podcasts.
- The guiding principle of EM is fugitivity, inspired by the tradition of Maroons who escaped enslavement in Jamaica. Fugitivity is characterized by resistance, joy amidst hardship, and unbounded expression. EM’s four rules of fugitivity emphasize subversion and reclaiming agency, reflecting a Black diasporic framework of resistance.
- This act of resistance in the form of a digital humanities project hosts events, forums, and blog posts exploring themes of marronage, family, and kinship, providing a space for community-building and celebration. EM recently collaborated with Dark Laboratory on discussions about Black feminism, coloniality, and community support. Ultimately, EM aims to create networks of solidarity, care, and community centered around Black and brown femme experiences, challenging traditional notions of knowledge extraction and violence in academic settings.
Discussion Questions:
- How does the concept of fugitivity or one of the rules of fugitivity resonate with you personally, especially in the context of academia or other areas of your life?
- As scholars, how do we navigate the tension between academic expectations and personal expression in your own work ?
Digital Humanities Project Management 
Leave a comment