Merial Boschung's Blog

It is generally understood that archives are important sites of historical cultural, legal, and social documentation for groups, nations, and individuals worldwide. Without archival documentation, a society’s ability to form its own identity and obtain its own ancestral knowledge would be “severely compromised” (Carter 221). Rodney Carter discusses the discrimination enacted against marginalised groups’ access and inclusion in the state-sponsored archival world, and suggests that these groups thus create alternative archival sites in order to “preserve and share their own stories” (231). These alternative sites operate beyond “the mainstream”, which refers to the dominant archival discourse generally controlled by the state (Carter 224). Alternative sites would thus require non-governmental archivists which allow marginalized groups to share their history “from their own perspective while maintaining control over their own documentary heritage” (231). Taking autobiographical websites such as StoryCorps and Humans of New York into consideration, I argue that these are strong examples of alternative popular archival sites. They intervene in public discourse differently than would a state-sponsored archive by providing a well-balanced representation of a wide array of cultural and socioeconomic demographics.

StoryCorps and Humans of New York are both modern autobiographical websites whereby stories of everyday citizens from around the world are able to share small anecdotes of their lives. These websites include documentation of a wide demographic of people – both belonging and not belonging to marginalized populations – with a seeming purpose of bringing together all such demographics by recognizing each other’s common humanity. In regards to their archival characteristics, both of these sites arguably contain “historical records relating to a place, organization, or family” (Cambridge) in the way that they feature stories of humans’ lives – lives which are inextricably linked to institutions, places, organizations, and events. Furthermore, because these stories are posted on the Internet, which is a public domain, StoryCorps and Humans of New York become sites where these “historical records are kept” (Cambridge) and thus provide the public with access and insight into the lives of those past and present.

Neither of these websites, however, is owned by the state – which Carter explains is the key difference between an alternative and a formal archival site. StoryCorps is founded by David Isay, a radio-show host and author (Third Coast International Audio Festival). Humans of New York is founded by Brandon Stanton, a regular photographer (Humans of New York). These two sites are founded with intentions of bringing about collective, cross-cultural understanding and respect from a grassroots perspective (as opposed to a formal, state-sponsored archive, which may only exist, I argue, to provide factual evidence of a person’s existence and placement in history). While a formal archive may include documents such as immigration papers and journal entries which do not necessarily provide readers with adequate contextual information, StoryCorps and Humans of New York are platforms on which the option to contextualize a person’s story is readily available.

It is in this way that these two forms of alternative archives intervene differently in public discourse: they are vibrant platforms whereby humans – with stories and experiences – can share their history “from their own perspective while maintaining control over their own documentary heritage” (Carter 231). The subjects of these alternative archives have agency in what they do and do not share (Carter 231), and thus have the ability to speak out against marginalization, discrimination, violence, or any other symptom of hegemony and inequality. I argue that these websites are thus, in a way, platforms whereby populations who may otherwise be denied access to “[participation] in the archives” (Carter 217) can intervene in public discourse by sharing their history. StoryCorps and Humans of New York are not coined by “the powerful” (Carter), but by everyday citizens who care to document the everyday lives of a variety of individuals – no matter their race, gender, religion, or age. These are powerful alternative archival sources with a strong pull to help the marginalized resist being “silenced through force” (Carter 218).

Works Cited

“About.” Humans of New York. Brandon Stanton, n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2017. <http://www.humansofnewyork.com/about>.

“Archive.” Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017. <http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/archive>.

Carter, Rodney G.S. “Of Things Said and Unsaid: Power, Archival Silences, and Power in Silence.” Archivaria 61 (2006): 215-33.  Archivaria. Association of Canadian Archivists. Web. 23 Feb. 2017. <http://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/12541>.

“David Isay.” Third Coast International Audio Festival. Third Coast International Audio Festival, n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2017. <http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/explore/person/david-isay>.