Article by Irene Hilden, Jasmin Mahazi and Mèhèza Kalibani
In Berlin, two sound archives emerged under colonial auspices and were part of the colonial project: the Lautarchiv at Humboldt University, which encompasses sound produced mainly in the heart of the German capital in the first half of the 20th century, and the Phonogramm-Archiv at the Berlin Ethnological Museum, with voices recorded in colonial territories and brought to the metropole by travelers or ethnologists. Along the years, these collections have contributed to a preservation of colonial structures of power and knowledge. As a way to engage with such voices, we discuss possible approaches to sonic legacies and reflect on the potentials and limitations of grappling with sensitive sound material. By outlining the institutional histories of colonial sound collections and focusing on two particular recordings, we address the double sensitive nature of historical audio sources. We aim to raise questions about the politics of access and presentation of sensitive sound material and argue for a plurality of interpretations of colonial sound archives. Accessing Colonial Sound Archives: For a Plurality of Interpretations. weiterlesen
