Truth, the Archives,
and the Archivist
Dr. Shelley Sweeney,
University of Manitoba Archives
& Special Collections,
August 21, 2015
Definition of Truth
• Oxford English Dictionary:
“conformity with fact; agreement
with reality; accuracy, correctness,
verity; that which is true, real, or
actual“
• Definitions based on religious beliefs
• Definitions based on what is said
i.e. “A true statement or proposition”
? Truth mean
• Difficult to get any agreement as to
what truth means
• Many theories, little agreement
• According to 2009 survey of professional
philosophers & others,~45% leaned
towards correspondence theories
– "The PhilPapers Surveys - Preliminary Survey results". The
PhilPapers Surveys. Philpapers.org. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
Correspondence Theories
• Truth is how closely it relates to
“things” or external reality
• This is dependent upon words to
represent those realities
• This is problematic as languages do not
translate exactly
• Interpersonal power struggles,
community interactions, personal bias
also can come into play
Postmodernist View
• Truth is socially constructed
• People have a unique understanding of
truth based on their world views,
upbringing, culture, etc.
• Everyone and no one has the truth
• Each person has their own truth, their
own interpretation & perspective
• Link of truth to power
Truth & Archives
• Some sort of truth may be contained in
the records held by archives
• How do those records get there and
what happens to them after they
arrive?
• What is the responsibility of the
archivists in those archives to acquire
these records and make them
available?
Social Responsibility
• Many authors have begun to explore
the social responsibility of archivists
• Verne Harris – South Africa
• Rand Jimerson – United States
• Others, the responsibility to preserve
records of Truth & Reconciliation
Commissions
• Trudy Huskamp Peterson – United
States and internationally
Relationship Truth & Archives of
Truth Commissions?
• ? Relationship between truth and truth
& reconciliation commissions and the
world in general
• What are our responsibilities as
archivists who are part of society in
solidarity with others?
• Michelle Caswell calls for pluralistic
understanding
Pluralism
• Pluralism: “a situation in which people of
different social classes, religions, races,
etc., are together in a society but continue
to have their different traditions and
interests” (Merriam Webster)
• Caswell promotes pluralism in archival
practice
• Includes energetic engagement,
understanding, strengthened commitment
Plurality? Universality?
• Nathan, Shaffer & Castor criticize this view
• Caswell is promoting universality
• Difference is part of the whole, which
when united “produces a cohesive
reality”
• Nathan, Shaffer & Castor feel there is no
cohesive reality; different people have
different perspectives and can experience
entirely distinct phenomena
Truth Commission Archives
• Nathan, Shaffer & Castor suggest that
“predominant Western European
archival practices are aligned with
dominant power structures and negate
alternative socio-political narratives”
• Archivists are part of the legacy of
colonizing initiatives
• Archivists must address structural
injustices
Larger Picture
• “The Concept of Truth” by Richard
Campbell
• Truth is often linked to speaking
• Speakers can err unless they are acting
out of a genuine understanding both of
themselves and the phenomenon they
are speaking about
• Campbell advocates truth in actions
Truth in actions
• The domain of actions might be the
primary locus of truth
• actions are ascribed to all living things
• Those actions can be true
• Truth = faithfulness in action
• Different actions can be faithful in
different circumstances
Be faithful/truthful
• In order to be faithful/truthful:
• 1) actions must be genuine, consistent
commitment by the [archivist], fitting to
the circumstance
• 2) you must have insight & discernment
into the character of the situation & into
needs & desires of the other
• 3) respect the integrity of the other
Campbell Concept of Truth
• “Resolute commitment to truth in the
public domain is one of our protections
against disillusion, corruption and
injustice”
Archivists need to go further
• I don’t believe that we can ever put
ourselves completely into the place of
the “other”
• If we desire to act socially we need the
active participation of the other if that is
possible
• Truth commissions can never reveal the
truth strictly from oppressors’ points of
view
Web of Influence
• As archivists we need to rely on members
of particular communities to participate
• We provide the infrastructure
• We provide archival knowledge
• They provide the knowledge of
community
• They can acquire records
• Know how to describe, make available to
others in community
All in this Together
• Archivists cannot act alone
• We act from our places in institutions
with all their limitations
• In our actions we will be true
• We must work together to preserve a
full picture of society with members of
society
• Hard work to coordinate communities
Truth & Reconciliation
Communities?
• Truth & Reconciliation Commission
records must have participation of
injured community to achieve truth
• But for truth & reconciliation we need
active participation of everyone
• Everyone must work together
• Michelle Caswell, “On Archival Pluralism:
What Religious Pluralism (and Its Critics)
Can Teach Us about Archives,” Archival
Science (2013)
• Trudy Huskamp Peterson, Final Acts:
A Guide to Preserving the Records of
Truth Commissions (2005)
• Randall C. Jimerson, Archives Power:
Memory, Accountability, and Social Justice
(c. 2009)
• Lisa P. Nathan, Elizabeth M. Shaffer,
Maggie Castor, “Stewarding Collections of
Trauma: Plurality, Responsibility, and
Questions of Action,“ Archivaria
(forthcoming) And