Archives, the Digital Turn, and Governance in Africa

Chamelot, Fabienne; Hiribarren, Vincent; Rodet, Marie

Abstract

With the rise of information technology, an increasing proportion of public African archives are being digitized and made accessible on the internet. The same is being done to a certain extent with private archives too. As much as the new technologies are raising enthusiasm, they have prompted discussion among researchers and archivists, on subjects ranging from matters of intellectual property to sovereignty and governance. Digital archiving disrupts archival norms and practices, opening up a field of reflection relatively little explored by historians. This article therefore seeks to reflect on the digital turn of African archives as a subject for study in its own right, located at the crossroads of political and economic interests.

Citation

Chamelot, F., Hiribarren, V., & Rodet, M. (2019). Archives, the Digital Turn, and Governance in Africa. History in Africa, 47, 101-118. https://doi.org/10.1017/hia.2019.26

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 16, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Dec 9, 2019
• Publication Date: Dec 9, 2019
• Deposit Date: Nov 27, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 27, 2020
• Journal: History in Africa
• Print ISSN: 0361-5413
• Electronic ISSN: 1558-2744
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 47
• Pages: 101-118
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/hia.2019.26