Anarchist Archives
Understanding the differences between anarchist collections and mainstream collections.
The International Anarchist Archives: A Report on Conditions and a Proposal for Action (2012) is a small-scale study of self-acknowledged “anarchist archives” around the world. These archives collect material related to the political and philosophic principles and practice of anarchism, many of which are ignored by more mainstream academic collections.
The study’s author, Dr. Andrew Hoyt, has extensive publications in the field of anarchist studies and history, with peer-reviewed publications focusing on labor migration, radical print culture, and transnational social networks.
Hoyt conducted direct interviews with representatives of these different archives to gather his data, in combination with a reading of materials about the archives that were created by sources outside those organizations.
The first section of Hoyt’s paper lays the groundwork for understanding the function, growth, purpose, and environment of these archives of anarchist materials, especially as they relate to archives that cater to more mainstream works. This section includes a review of essays about the function and history of archives, which Hoyt extrapolates onto the specific category of anarchist archives.
