The Archival is Political

This issue of Rejoinder addresses the power and politics of the archive as an object of fascination for feminist/queer scholars and activists. Carolyn Steedman states that “you find nothing in the Archive but stories caught half way through: the middle of things; discontinuities” (2002, 45), while Gracen Brilmyer argues that archives are assemblages of “people, places, policies, attitudes, environments, and materials across time” (2018, 98). At the same time that archives can be sites of radical hope for the preservation of the histories of women, queer folks, people of color, and otherwise marginalized groups, they are also institutions that have historically enacted immense violence. As Saidiya Hartman asks: “is it possible to exceed or negotiate the constitutive limits of the archive?” (2008, 11). In other words, what is the past, present, and future of feminist and queer archival practice?

We invite interdisciplinary submissions that address the “archival turn” in feminist and queer studies. Submissions may include essays, commentary, criticism, fiction, poetry, and artwork from any discipline. We particularly welcome work that connects archival practice to activism, whether this be archival collections focused on activist history or archival collection as a political project for historical redress. Other topics may include digital archives, fictional archives, archival silences and violence, archival management, and information sciences. Together these contributions will reflect the contradictions of, and aspirations for, feminist and queer archives.

For manuscript preparation details, please see our website at: https://irw.rutgers.edu/about-rejoinder. Rejoinder is published by the Institute for Research on Women at Rutgers University in partnership with The Feminist Art Project.

This special issue of Rejoinder will be edited by Alexandra Southgate (Temple University). Please send completed written work (2,000-2,500 words max), jpegs of artwork, and short bios to irw@sas.rutgers.edu with “Rejoinder Submission” in the subject line. The deadline for submissions has been extended to January 5, 2024.