Mediating colonial archives

Notes from Charles Jeurgens’ “Building better archival futures by recognizing epistemic injustice”

Abstract

The commentary on “Building better archival futures by recognizing epistemic injustice” by Charles Jeurgens begins to approach some of the ideas and concepts that he analyses, namely “epistemic justice” and, in special, “hermeneutical injustice”. Follows a mention to diverse researches and initiatives revisiting colonialism in Portugal and a critical mention on the extensive use of the term decolonisation applied, for instance, to the archives. The “myth of impartiality and neutrality” of the archivists deserves a specific attention, as well as the difficulties surrounding their practices’ transparency. The uniqueness of the colonial archives is questioned, in comparison with other archives equally demanding a rigorous study. Finally, doubts are raised on the role of archivists and archival institutions regarding the colonial archives as a matter of justice.