STARTING THIS FALL! A series of talks organized by the “Colonial Contexts” network on the social responsibility of archives, museums, collections, and libraries
Who preserves, who decides?
Social Responsibility (Not Only) in Dealing with Colonial Knowledge
The material legacy of the colonial era is an undeniable part of our present. To this day, museums exhibit objects that were brought to Europe during the colonial era. Libraries preserve historical colonial literature and continue to make it accessible. Archives hold documents that chronicle colonial rule, its administration, and the resistance against it. Extensive photographic collections from the colonial era continue to shape our perceptions of formerly colonized countries. Much of this material is being digitized, made available online, and increasingly analyzed using AI. Greater accessibility creates new opportunities for participation, but it also places new responsibilities on institutions of memory: How can misuse be prevented? How can we counteract uses that are anti-democratic or discriminatory?
With the series “Who Preserves, Who Decides?”, we bring together panelists who address various historical contexts—including those of injustice—and current societal changes. Drawing on experiences in dealing with colonial contexts, we will discuss—across four events—political influence on archives, the use of AI, neutrality in libraries, and the handling of photographs in the digital sphere, demonstrating that these issues extend far beyond the field of colonial history and affect us all as a democratic society.
The four events will take place at various locations in Germany. Online participation is also possible. Further information will follow.
20. Oktober 2026, 16 Uhr, hybrid
Auditorium im Grimm-Zentrum, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Archives: Power, Politics, Memory
Archives enable us to engage with the past. What they preserve, catalogue and make accessible therefore also influences memory: which stories can be told – and which cannot? As administrative archives, they document state action, safeguard historical records and can therefore both legitimise and challenge political power. Civil society groups and social movements, in turn, preserve in their own archives materials that are often missing from state records. The decision as to what is preserved and collected in archives, how it is organised and catalogued, which sources are accessible to whom, and even what is digitised first, is guided by specific interests and circumstances. Archives are therefore deeply political. As part of this event, we aim to discuss the role of archives with archive representatives against the backdrop of power, politics and memory.
Programme
Keynote (online):
• Dorothy Judith Berry, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, USA
Panel Discussion
• Moderation: Jan Hüsgen, Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste
• Guests: Kim Dresel, Arolsen Archives
Michael Hollmann, Bundesarchiv
Vera Tönsfeldt, Dokumentationszentrum und Museum über die Migration in
Deutschland (DOMiD)
November 2026, Leipzig
Museums: Digitalization, AI, Data Rights
January 2027, Hamburg
Libraries: Neutrality, Democracy, Freedom of Expression
February 2027, Frankfurt
Photography: Images, Digitality, and the Public Sphere