Archiving Environmental Change
The “Archiving Environmental Change” group was established early in 2022 guided by the following rubric:
How do the terms ‘archive’ and ‘environment’ change each other? In dealing with organic matter or aqueous and other environments, can one even talk of an archive?
At the same time, how are actual archives around the Indian Ocean littoral assailed by ‘environments’, whether damp air, mold, bats, and bees as well as political contexts? This working group explores these questions, with the aim to produce new angles on the entanglements of ‘archives’ and ‘environment’ in the Indian Ocean arena.
The group drew together two archeologists, two historians, a musician, a linguist, an activist professor of social work, and a literary/cultural scholar.
How do the terms ‘archive’ and ‘environment’ change each other? In dealing with organic matter or aqueous and other environments, can one even talk of an archive?
The Group
Nathan Badenoch
Department of Global Interdisciplinary Studies, Villanova University
Rufus Maculuve
Musician, Researcher, Arts Manager, Higher Institute of Fine Arts and Culture (ISArC), Kaleidoscopio
Simon Connor
Mussa Raja
Eduardo Mondlane University
Saarah Jappie
Senior Program Officer at SSRC – MMGIP
Bina Sengar
Department of History & Ancient Indian Culture, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University
Isabel Hofmeyr
Professor Emeritus, Wits University
Sunil Santha
Centre for Livelihoods and Social Innovation, School of Social Work, TISS
The Presentations
Zoom Meetings: Archiving environmental change through the miniature
The group aimed to explore “Archiving Environmental Change” by means of monthly Zoom meetings where each member drew on their own work to establish common themes for further discussion and interrogation.
Initial discussions took shape around objects, creatures and media associated with each person’s research.
The Workshop
The group’s work culminated in a physical meeting held in South Africa in June 2023 where members presented and discussed their work, leading to the production of a section of a special issue of an academic journal.
FEELING LIKE A FOREST
– June 12, 2023| 9:00 am
Nathan Badenoch, Department of Global Interdisciplinary Studies, Villanova University
FISHSCAPES: ANCHOVIES, NAIRS, AND THEIR FISHY EPISTEMOLOGIES
– June 12, 2023| 10:00 am
Sunil D. Santha, Centre for Livelihoods and Social Innovation, School of Social Work, TISS
A SONIC APPROACH TO VERNACULAR ARCHIVES AND CULTURAL MEMORY OF THE FISHING COMMUNITIES OF MOZAMBIQUE ISLAND
– June 12, 2023| 11:30 am
Rufus Maculuve, Musician, Researcher, Arts Manager, Higher Institute of Fine Arts and Culture (ISArC), Kaleidoscopio
THE SEDIMENTS IN AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT AS A PALEO- ENVIRONMENT ARCHIVE
– June 12, 2023| 1:30 pm
Mussa Raja, Eduardo Mondlane University
KAMMAKAMMA/ THE EERSTE RIVER IN FRAGMENTS
– June 12, 2023| 2:30 pm
Saarah Jappie, Senior Program Officer at SSRC – MMGIP
THERE’S A BUG IN MY MEDIA: INSECTS, COLONIAL ARCHIVES AND BOOK HISTORY
– June 13, 2023| 9:00 am
Isabel Hofmeyr, Professor Emeritus, Wits University
THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING TO MUD
– June 13, 2023| 10:00 am
Simon Connor, ANU School of Culture, History & Language
ARCHIVING CLIMATE CHANGE INDUCED ARTISANS RESILIENCE IN THE WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN REGION
– June 13, 2023| 11:30 am
Bina Sengar, Department of History & Ancient Indian Culture, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University
Image Archive
Image Archive