A call to rethink archival creation: exploring types of creation in personal archives

摘要

AbstractThe concept of creatorship is central to archival theory, as evidenced in archival description, which focuses on the relation of the material described to a single, named creator. Despite its centrality to the discipline and profession, the concept of archival creation is under-theorized and oversimplified. This article builds on recent discussion in the archival discipline regarding the need to expand the principle of provenance by exploring methods of archival creation in the archives of Canadian and American writers. It argues for a broader understanding of the types of agents and processes that create an archive over time and suggests that despite being centered on the concept of creation, the archival discipline has only begun to scratch the surface of the possibilities contained in it.