The Leaky Archive

Mit: Agustina Adreoletti / Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum (RJM) Köln

In this seminar, we will explore how colonial archives and collections can be critically developed and reflected upon. Students are free to choose what kind of idea they want to pursue; research and work can include methodological and/or thematic approaches to collections and archives, databases, or individual subjects in the collection.

POSSIBLE TOPICS

‒ the visual and material culture of colonialism

‒ legacies of diverse colonial empires and coloniality in archives

‒ material and digital restitution and repair

‒ accessibility, conservation and participation

‒ engaging own communities in digital spaces

‒ digital infrastructure and alternative networks

‒ narratives and counter-narratives, and issues of memory

‒ human, more-than-human and institutional relations

‒ predatory inclusion and colonial debt

‒ discomfort and hope

‒ decolonisation of the unconscious

The seminar includes access to the complete Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum (RJM) database and visits to the museum’s depot.

The outcomes of the seminar will be shown in RJM during September 2023.

The Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum is one of the largest ethnological museums in Germany; approximately 65,000 objects and 100,000 photographs are contained in its collections. Leaky Archive is a new digital project at the RJM which aims to work collaboratively and democratically on the collections in digital and analog spaces.

http://www.rjm-leakyarchive.de/