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The gendered South African archivist : invisible voices through the twentieth century

Dissertation (MSocSci (History))--University of Pretoria, 2022.

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Other Authors: Harris, Karen Leigh
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Harris, Karen Leigh
author_browse Harris, Karen Leigh
author_facet Harris, Karen Leigh
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MSocSci (History))--University of Pretoria, 2022.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:40:32.922Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/89179 The gendered South African archivist : invisible voices through the twentieth century Harris, Karen Leigh wendycox23@gmail.com Cox, Wendy UCTD Archives South African history Archival legislation Archival history Gendered language Women Gender Dissertation (MSocSci (History))--University of Pretoria, 2022. This study explores the history and development of what would become the South African public archive through the twentieth century. The “invisible voices” in the title refer to women archivists in the South African public archive and the fact that they are for the most part invisible in the historical and archival record. The study endeavours to illuminate these key women and locate their voices, roles and contribution to the archive. The study firstly sketches the broad background of the origin and development of archives and then considers the history of archival development in the so-called “mother countries” of the South African archive, the Netherlands and Britain. The factors and circumstances which gave rise to the establishment of the archive in South Africa (SA) and its specific characteristics are also considered. Secondly, the study analyses the four pieces of archival legislation that were promulgated in the twentieth century as they provide a framework to establish the historical development of the public archive in SA. Finally, it concludes with an analysis of language used in the pieces of legislation as well as writings of prominent male archivists during this period to establish the use of gendered language. The objective was to establish if and how gendered language perpetuated women’s relegation and exclusion with specific reference to the archival profession. The findings of the study confirmed that the functionaries or role players in the archival domain since ancient times were predominantly male. The South African archival domain up to the latter part of the twentieth century reflects the same characteristic. The gendered language used in the pieces of archival legislation and writings displayed and established the male-structured and male-dominated nature of language as well as the archival profession. Although the space created by the language used in the legislation was predominantly “male only” and meant to exclude and relegate women to secondary spaces, the contribution of these three key women were pivotal to the development of the South African archive. Historical and Heritage Studies MSocSci (History) Unrestricted 2023-02-07T07:03:51Z 2023-02-07T07:03:51Z 2023 2022 Dissertation * A2023 https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/89179 https://doi.org.10.25403/UPresearchdata.22012499 en © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Archives
South African history
Archival legislation
Archival history
Gendered language
Women
Gender
The gendered South African archivist : invisible voices through the twentieth century
title The gendered South African archivist : invisible voices through the twentieth century
title_full The gendered South African archivist : invisible voices through the twentieth century
title_fullStr The gendered South African archivist : invisible voices through the twentieth century
title_full_unstemmed The gendered South African archivist : invisible voices through the twentieth century
title_short The gendered South African archivist : invisible voices through the twentieth century
title_sort gendered south african archivist invisible voices through the twentieth century
topic UCTD
Archives
South African history
Archival legislation
Archival history
Gendered language
Women
Gender
url https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/89179
https://doi.org.10.25403/UPresearchdata.22012499