Archives and Justice: A South African Perspective

by Verne Harris, Terry Cook (Foreword)

A project manager for the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, Harris has been a central figure in South Africa's post-apartheid archival transformation effort. Here he collects 21 essays and articles pivoting on resistance to insularity, taking his own field as a case study for professional discourse in general. Among his topics are Derrida in the archive, archival descriptions as narrating records and constructing meanings, the archive as politics, and unveiling South Africa's nuclear past. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

447 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Granted, Harris is exceedingly postmodern in his perspectives, but there is some really fascinating information and history in this book. I particularly like the "conversation" he has with Sello Hatang, "Archives, Identity, and Place: A Dialogue on What It (Might) Mean(s) to Be an African Archivist."

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

From one of the "big guns" in the archival profession... Harris has done important work that joins historical records and social justice.