A Guide to Archival Research

Archival silences are the voices missing from the collections. These gaps in the historical record preserved by archives are real, and are not accidental. Archivists have made decisions over time about who and what is deemed important enough to be preserved, and these decisions have influenced the historical record. Sometimes this is due to historical and internalized racism, classism, sexism, and ignorance of marginalized genders and sexualities.

Archives do not preserve history in its entirety. There are always voices or representation that is missing from the archives. Reasons for these gaps and silences include:

• the western worldview, white, privileged, and male views are more predominantly represented in historic records
• records created by the wealthy, the most educated, and those with the highest status in society have a much greater chance of surviving and being preserved
• archives staff have made decisions over time about who and what is deemed important enough to be preserved, and these decisions have influenced the historical record
• that material objects were not able to be created by a community, or were destroyed

Strategies for addressing archival gaps and silences in your research:

• acknowledge that archival silences exist
• address archival silences in your research by answering:
  • what is missing?
  • whose perspectives are not represented?
  • What could be the reasons for these archival silences?
  • Check if you can find evidence for the missing perspective elsewhere (in another archives? in the community?)
• Critically reflect upon archival silences and address them in your research.

Adapted from the work of Dorothy Berry, Michaela Ullmann, USC Special Collections and Archives.