2nd Jenkinson Lecture

Last Thursday I attended the 2nd Jenkinson Lecture organised by UCL. Professor Eric Ketelaar gave a paper entitled Archival Identities which addressed this topic using the records of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia as a reference point, or case study.

It was a pleasure to hear Dr Ketelaar talk. His paper was well presented, easy to listen to and follow, and interesting. It looked, in turn, at meaning, truth, memories, histories, identities, and the proposition of a living archive. Throughout I had the impression of dynamic relationships between records, the reason(s) for their creation or gathering, and their use and re-use.

Dr Ketelaar’s approach allows that records are subject to active re-interpretation. The meaning of a record can be different for individuals and groups depending upon the purpose and context of its creation and re-examination. Different types of truth and different ownerships of truth can be attached to records and can influence memory and identity. Records shape the memories of individuals and collective groups through shared communication. Archives present the evidence of the past but also allow histories to be constructed by people with different interpretations, experiences and purposes. Dr Ketelaar finished with the concept of a living archive - an archive that is used and examined, re-used, re-interpreted, discussed, pondered upon and has meaning(s) added to it through this activity.