Table Of ContentGhosts of Archive
Ghosts of Archive draws on the discourses of deconstruction, intersectionality and
archetypal psychology to mount an argument that archive is fundamentally and
structurally spectral and that the work of archive is justice.
Drawing on more than 20 years of the author’s research on deconstruction and
archive, the book posits archive as an essential resource for social justice activism
and as a source, or location, of soul for individuals and communities. Through
explorations of what Jacques Derrida termed ‘hauntology,’ Harris invites a listening
to the call for justice in conceptual spaces that are non-disciplinary. He argues that
archive is both constructed in relation to and beset by ghosts – ghosts of the living,
of the dead and of those not yet born – and that attention should be paid to them.
Establishing a unique nexus between a deconstructive intersectionality and tradi-
tions of ‘memory for justice’ in struggles against oppression from South Africa and
elsewhere, the book makes a case for a deconstructive praxis in today’s archive.
Offering new ideas about spectrality, banditry and archival activism, Ghosts of
Archive should appeal to those working in the disciplines of archival science, infor-
mation studies and psychology. It should also be essential reading for those with an
interest in social justice issues, transitional justice, history, philosophy, memory
studies and postcolonial studies.
Verne Harris is an adjunct professor at the Nelson Mandela University. He served
in South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and was Nelson Mandela’s
archivist between 2004 and 2013.
Routledge Studies in Archives
Series Editor: James Lowry
Titles include
Archives, Recordkeeping and Social Justice
Edited by David A. Wallace, Wendy M. Duff, Renée Saucier, and Andrew Flinn
Producing the Archival Body
Jamie A. Lee
Ghosts of Archive
Deconstructive Intersectionality and Praxis
Verne Harris
Ghosts of Archive
Deconstructive Intersectionality
and Praxis
Verne Harris
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2021 Verne Harris
The right of Verne Harris to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Harris, Verne., author.
Title: Ghosts of archive : deconstructive intersectionality and praxis /
Verne Harris.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020. | Series:
Routledge studies in archive | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020034457 (print) | LCCN 2020034458 (ebook) | ISBN
9780367361075 (hbk) | ISBN 9780429343827 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Archives--Political aspects--South Africa. |
Archives--Social aspects--South Africa. | Archives--South
Africa--Philosophy. | Social justice--South Africa. | Collective
memory--South Africa.
Classification: LCC CD2451 .H374 2020 (print) | LCC CD2451 (ebook) | DDC
027.068--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020034457
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020034458
ISBN: 978-0-367-36107-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-34382-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by SPi Global, India
For my fam
Sonnie, Ker, Duke, Diks and Ben
Contents
Routledge Studies in Archives viii
Preface and acknowledgements ix
Introduction: A framing 1
1 The trouble with archive 16
2 Elements of haunting 32
3 Spectral archive 49
4 Reckoning with pasts 66
5 A time to forget 82
6 Cixous insist(er)ing 97
7 Praxis 115
Epilogue: Reframing 132
References 145
Index 152
Routledge Studies in Archi ves
Series Editor: James Lowry
Routledge Studies in Archives publishes new research in archival studies. Recognising
the imperative for archival work in support of memory, identity construction,
social justice, accountability, legal rights and historical understanding, the series
extends the disciplinary boundaries of archival studies. The works in this series
illustrate how archival studies intersects with the concerns and methods of, and is
increasingly intellectually in conversation with, other fields.
Bringing together scholarship from diverse academic and cultural traditions and
presenting the work of emerging and established scholars side by side, the series
promotes the exploration of the intellectual history of archival science, the inter-
nationalisation of archival discourse and the building of new archival theory. It sees
the archival in personal, economic and political activity, historically and digitally
situated cultures, subcultures and movements, technical and socio-technical sys-
tems, technological and infrastructural developments and in many other places.
Archival studies brings an historical perspective and unique expertise in records
creation, management and sustainability to questions, problems and data challenges
that lie at the heart of our knowledge about and ability to tackle some of the most
difficult dilemmas facing the world today, such as climate change, mass migration,
and disinformation. Routledge Studies in Archives is a platform for this work.
Preface and acknowledgements
This book draws on a decade of enquiry, research and engagement. I am grateful
to the institutions that have provided me with support in this endeavour – princi-
pally the Nelson Mandela Foundation, my employer throughout that decade, but
also the Nelson Mandela University, the University of Cape Town and Dominican
University, which have provided me with spaces for reflection and have in many
instances tested my first thoughts along a line of enquiry. All of them have tolerated
my banditry with more than a modicum of generosity and humour. Work by me
on numerous conference papers and a number of journal articles have focused my
thinking along the way. For the book, I have drawn on sections from six of the lat-
ter (noting in the text where I do this) and am grateful for the necessary permis-
sions to reuse my own words where appropriate:
(2012) “Genres of the trace: memory, archives and trouble,” Archives and Manuscripts
40 (3): 147–157, copyright The Australian Society of Archivists, reprinted by
permission of Informa UK limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group, www.
tandfonline.com on behalf of The Australian Society of Archivists.
(2014) “Antonyms of our remembering,” Archival Science 14 (3–4): 215–229,
reprinted by permission of Springer Nature.
(2015) “Spectres of archive and liberation,” IASA Journal 44: 8–13, reprinted by
permission of the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives.
(2015) “Hauntology, archivy and banditry: an engagement with Derrida and
Zapiro,” Critical Arts 29: 13–27, copyright Critical Arts Projects & Unisa Press,
reprinted by permission of Informa UK limited, trading as Taylor & Francis
Group, www.tandfonline.com on behalf of Critical Arts Projects & Unisa
Press.
(2017) “Insistering Derrida: Cixous, deconstruction and the work of archive,”
Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies 2: 1–19, reprinted by permis-
sion of the Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies.
(2018) “Passion for archive,” Archives and Manuscripts 46 (2): 193–199, copyright
The Australian Society of Archivists, reprinted by permission of Informa UK
limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group, www.tandfonline.com on behalf of
The Australian Society of Archivists.
