Re-engaging ‘Old Media’ Archives and Methods in Africa
Stream convener: Dina Ligaga dina.ligaga@wits.ac.za (Department of Media Studies, University of the Witwatersrand)

What does it mean to return to archives that have been held together and preserved by powerful institutions and systems? What is yielded when new methods are applied in engaging such archives? What kinds of new questions can be asked of older/ existing archives?

This stream invites panels and papers that can reflect on as well as challenge colonial and postcolonial institutional archives of older media forms of audio, visual and print that have tended to document African histories and subjectivities in line with hegemonic thought. Following Keguro Macharia’s invitation, this stream seeks to respond to the question: “how might African archives – however those might be defined- demand and produce the methods we need?” (Macharia 2015:141). The stream pushes for alternative methods of reading the media archive in Africa, in the hope of raising new questions also applicable to present and future readings of media archives in Africa. Panel and paper abstract of not more than 300 words can be emailed to dina.ligaga@wits.ac.za.