Unearthing Traces

A study of the forces that shape postcolonial landscapes and built environments.

Archival power, silences, and absences profoundly shape and structure postcolonial landscapes, spaces, and urban environments by controlling bodies, histories, and interactions. This book explores how to dismantle these imperial entanglements by developing an interdisciplinary dialogue that brings together history, memory politics, critical theory, and archival practice along with the built environment, landscape, urban studies, architecture, and the arts. Unearthing Traces catalyzes critical discussions that not only challenge the objectivity and dismantle the neutrality surrounding current archival practices and archival institutions but also question what constitutes the archive itself. The book unearths potential histories and minor narratives buried by the imperial production of pasts and silences. It provides a critical resource for scholars, architects, artists, activists, and archivists who want to engage with landscapes and built environments using a critical and postcolonial perspective.