For this session we will be hearing from archivists whose research and practice engages with the role that archives have to play in addressing past injustices.

This seminar will feature two presentations, followed by a moderated Q&A/discussion.

Ashley Williams will be presenting her research into the social justice goals and impact of the archive in the context of the Universities Studying Slavery Consortium. Dr Barry Houlihan from National Univeristy of Ireland, Galway (NUIG), will be addressing the question of archival memory and the records of survivors of institutional abuse in Ireland.

Event Schedule:

14:55-15:00 Attendees will be admitted to Zoom conference

15:00-15:30 Social Justice Goals and Impact in the Archive: a Case Study of 'Universities Studying Slavery'

Ashley Williams, Independent Archivist

15:30-16:00 Sites of (Un)Remembrance: The State, Testimony, and Archival Memory

Dr Barry Houlihan, Archivist and Lecturer, NUIG

16:00-16:30 Q&A/Discussion

About the Speakers:

Ashley Williams recently graduated with an M.A. in Archives and Records Management from University College Dublin. Prior to the M.A., Ashley worked in the museum sector in New York City for 15 years.

Dr. Barry Houlihan is an Archivist at National University of Ireland, Galway. He teaches in disciplines of Digital Cultures, Drama, History, and Children's Studies. Barry is currently working on archiving the Tuam Mother and Baby Home Oral History project. His monograph: Theatre and Archival Memory: Irish Drama and Marginalised Histories 1951 - 1977 will be published this year by Palgrave MacMillan. Barry is also a committee member of the Irish Society for Archives and contributes regularly to RTÉ Brainstorm on topics of cultural heritage and archives.

This event is part of the ARA, Ireland seminar series, Archives and Social Justice. For more information on the other events in this series, please see our website.

Please note, the seminar will be delivered via Zoom. Registration for this online event will close at 6:00pm on Wednesday, 19 May after which point instructions for joining the Zoom video conference will be sent out to all ticket holders.