This afternoon seminar explores the critical intersection of archival practices and ethical considerations in the production and use of archival materials and infrastructures. Our distinguished panellists will be discussing the many dimensions of preserving, accessing, and representing historical records in various formats and for a variety of purposes.

Combining lightning talks and a roundtable discussion with a panel representing different perspectives on archives and ethics, we want to provide insights into what it takes to navigate the balance between preservation imperatives and ethical responsibilities associated with accessibility and representation.

With the event, CEDHAR wants to help researchers and archivists navigate an era defined by rapidly evolving digital technologies and societal changes with a heavy impact on research as well as local communities. To this end, the seminar promises to be a thought-provoking exploration of the ethical challenges and opportunities that archivists and archival users encounter.

We aim to foster a dialogue that transcends traditional boundaries between archival producers and users and examine how archives can best serve professional historians and communities far beyond academia while upholding ethical standards.

Lightning talks:

“Memory, Remediation, and Mouldy Tapes: The Challenges and Rewards of Preserving Legacy Media” JP Marchant, Director of Operations, Cinemobilia Mobile Media Digitization Lab, York University

“Evidence, Silences, and Destruction: Archives and Histories of Colonial Childhoods” Kristine Alexander, Associate Professor of History, University of Lethbridge

“Tracing the Prehistory of Digitised Promotional Films: Thoughts on Film Formats, Access, and Problematic Images” Silke Holmqvist, postdoctoral fellow, Aarhus University/The Danish National Archives

“Live streaming a mass movement: Galería CIMA’s digital protest archive in Santiago de Chile” Alexander Ulrich Thygesen, PhD student, Aarhus University

“Critical Care for the Early Web: Data, Archives and Memory” Katherine MacKinnon, postdoctoral fellow, University of Copenhagen

Title TBD (archives and data loss), Nanna Bonde Thylstrup, Associate Professor of Modern and Digital Culture, University of Copenhagen.