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Genocide Archives: Do They Have a Life Cycle?. Review of selected research on genocide archives Meagan Calogeras, Fall 2010. Genocide Archives are Unique. Evil origins Crimes detailed and frequently mundane Morph into different functions Wide range of people create, form, and consult them
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Genocide Archives: Do They Have a Life Cycle? Review of selected research on genocide archives Meagan Calogeras, Fall 2010
Genocide Archives are Unique • Evil origins • Crimes detailed and frequently mundane • Morph into different functions • Wide range of people create, form, and consult them • Ethical issues predominate early on • Legitimate ownership matters
Genocide Archives are Unique • Access and accountability are important issues • Have the potential to influence public policy • Offers rich source of historical research--perhaps ad infinitum • Takes years to organize and systematize • Raw data can be disseminated digitally with dubious consequences • Outreach and education is extremely important
Several genocide archives: • Anfal files of Iraqi Kurdistan • Ottoman archives of Turkey • Tuol Sleng archives of Cambodia • Holocaust archives of the world
Parting quote: • “Each succeeding generation of users will view a collection differently, coming to it with different motives, increased hindsight, and different tools for interpretation. These future users will sift, appraise, and digest the information we preserve, each according to his or her needs, acculturation, and understanding.” -- Jeffrey Mifflin, 1998