This Archive Has Queer People: Exploring Gender in Archival Spaces
For my undergraduate capstone, I chose to explore the question “what are the best practices to ethically record gender identities, and their change over time, that exist outside of the Western colonial binary, in archival collections?” Using a combination of a qualitative interviews and literature review, this project proposes a framework that can be used to start of the process of institutions evaluating their own collections for gender representation.
Capstone Origins
The origins of this project was a conversation with Kal Demaree, where were talking about some of the challenges they had faced approaching gender in museum spaces in terms of description and representation for individuals, specifically speaking about indigenous identities. Something we both agreed on was that there was 1) a lack of information about how to appraoch non-westsern gender identities in the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) space, and 2) gender, although important to queer experiences, is often not covered in the same way sexuality is, in terms of documentation and representation within collections. Thus started the investigation into my primary research question and the finished project below.
The Final Paper
The final project features 6 professional interviews, 3 individual interviews, and a literature review section that showcase the nuanced, intersection between gender representation, archival theory, and social structures that shape social histories.
The Final Poster/Pamplet
The final poster was shown at the IU Luddy Graduate Symposium, where I presented my research for my capstone. This poster was also accompanied by a pamphlet which highlighted key ideas and the same framework that was created.
Reflection
Although a project I was incredibly passionate about, the capstone itself had a steep learning curve and a tight deadline. Although I had conducted interviews previously, I had not conducted official research interviews, which required me to learn about research procedure and analysis methods. Furthermore, although I do know some about archival and gender theory, my initial understanding was un-nuanced, which required significant research and reading on my part to gather a deeper understanding of the two fields separately, and how they intersect. Furthermore, while I have an interest in non-western collections and Indigenous knowledge systems, I had, again, little experience with the area as a whole. Overall, this project was a fantastic learning experience for me in terms of conducting research skills, learning how to condense complex subjects for a general audience, and approaching new areas of study. I learned so much both through the physical act of writing this paper, as well as through the entire editing and design process.
​
I am eternally grateful to the individuals and organizations who worked with me on this project to make it come to fruition.