From the archives into the field

From the archives into the field

 

 

Carl-Philipp Bodenstein

From the archives into the field - Thoughts on oscillating between different sources of knowledge

The National Archives of Zambia situated in the government district in Lusaka right next to the Ministry of Home Affairs are proudly subtitled as "The Memory of the Nation". The first time I saw this label written on a board in the parking lot in front of the archive building it did not really elicit any deeper thoughts or reactions from me. It happened during a short break while sitting in that same parking lot and waiting for the next pile of documents to be delivered to the front desk by the archive staff that I started pondering about the label. I carried on this metaphor and thought if the archives were the memory of the nation then the building itself, the physical structure could be its head, which would make the documents and records inside the synapses and brain cells that form this national memory in the first place and hold it together. This trivial analogical conclusion seemed somewhat comforting in times when doubts about my research were tormenting my mind, a feeling which I guess is not uncommon, especially during the solitude of archival work.  But more importantly, it got me thinking about the very notion of a memory of a nation.

What kind of memory are we talking about? What can we get out of this memory? When do we need an additional memory and how can different kinds of memory be combined, especially if they do not add up at first sight? The obvious answer to the first question would be that an archive is a form of institutionalised memory, not only because the archive itself is integrated into some sort of state administration, but also because in its main holdings it consists of a selected body of documents. It is a memory formed by official records and while we have to cross-read and puzzle them together in order to get to a more complex and nuanced level of knowledge about for example the workings and inner dynamics of institutions or conflicts between institutions and groups of people there is an advantage to it. A lot of these records make implicit and sometimes explicit references to one another, for example a by-law that refers to the minutes of meeting where the law was discussed and formulated or a discussion about overcrowded high density townships where we find a connection to demographic or social surveys that give us an idea about how knowledge was produced. However, what these sources and archives in general cannot provide us with immediately are voices of the everyday. Sure, we might find discussions about daily problems such as complaints about the condition of latrines or shortages of products or services, but all they tell us about are the modes these problems were dealt with (or not) rather than how they affected the lives of individuals in often multiple ways.

In regard to the questions that my research project is based on this problem becomes especially relevant as I am trying to understand the intersections and interrelations of three different societal and political spheres within the urban space of Livingstone. I my pursuit of getting an understanding about how the private, the public and the political (or policy) sphere - in my case termed as housing, urban life and planning - are interlinked and have an influence on each other I attempt to display the rather tacit habitual and ideological structures that become relevant within urban social and cultural issues and negotiation processes.

Thus, in order to get a deeper understanding of the interrelations of policies or issues discussed in councils and the dynamics of everyday life I had to consult the very people whose lives were affected by these policies and go to the places (towns or neighbourhoods) where they were implemented. In theory, this is not a difficult task. I just tried to take the knowledge I had acquired from records and approach the people I talked to with the insights I had gained, and in a way that was actually the case. But very often this process is not as straight forward as it seems. When it comes to records, they might offer a very detailed yet somewhat isolated description of a certain event or issue within a specific temporal and spatial setting. In contrast, within their remarks and narratives individuals most certainly don’t mention policies or issues that are found in records directly, either because they have forgotten about them - which is understandable, especially given the time that has passed since - or more probably because they have never been aware of them in the first place. Yet, what their narratives will offer is an insight into their daily lives. But a one-on-one reference from an archival source to an interview is rarely the case. Hence, a struggle mentioned by an interviewee within his or her narrative might be an effect of a policy that same person was not aware of. Vice versa, that persons struggle might have been unknown or rendered unimportant by officials. Ultimately, to make a meaningful connection between two seemingly unrelated issues can be a difficult and tough task. However, to make visible these hidden links is what historical research is about.

As regards the intention to get to know more about the interrelations of policies and everyday life  (both private and public) archival materials and narratives taped on recording devices provide two different kinds knowledge. Mediating between the two can be a challenge and at times frustrating, because what is presented in a document and what an interviewee tells us might not go together or make any sense. On the other hand, these gaps between sources of knowledge might serve as a starting point to dig even deeper. The memory of a nation in this sense is much like a human memory, because it has lapses. It is selective and not complete. If it was, it would probably render us historians or historically oriented scholars useless, because after all our task is to find these gaps and fill them with meaning so as to elaborate a narrative that has not been inscribed into a nations memory before.

 

January, 2018