ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2019

Thinking about the upcoming anniversary of the 19th amendment, we recognize that neither the woman suffrage movement of the era nor mainstream archives post-movement have represented all women in this country. Records of women of diverse race, class, (dis)ability, sexuality, and other marginalized identities were never memorialized or have been lost. The In Her Own Right Project (InHOR) is working to discover ethical ways to restore records of these “hidden voices.”This working group aims to bring together the many issues involved in documenting women’s history outside mainstream archives. We will explore best practices for engaging with non-archival communities, their stewards (whether archivist or layperson), and their records, including discussion of the value of and use opportunities for records shared through cultural practices other than the written page. We will also consider how to create reciprocal relationships with these communities, avoiding colonialist acquisition practices. The session will generate action items from which InHOR will benefit, and which will be accessible to the public via a blog post on the project page (in addition to any other deliverables produced by SAA). The session will open with a brief explanation of the InHOR project and its search for “hidden voices”, followed by an inquiry of participant experiences. Attendees are expected to be active participants but not experts in these topics. Come prepared to share and engage in a guided discussion. Tales of institutional successes and failures are especially welcome and will be kept anonymous in the post-session notes.

This session will gather together many of the questions and issues that have been brought up through the years in pursuit of inclusivity in the archival record, specifically around women. Discussion questions will target these erasures ("hidden voices"), how we can attempt to restore them, and how we can avoid colonialist methods of acquisition while doing this work. The session additionally addresses power structures by intentionally considering how archivists can work ethically/respectfully with institutions and communities holding small archival collections, which may not have the same financial and professional support nor the same preferred methods as "mainstream" ones.