University of California Santa Cruz Archiving Disaster
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ ARCHIVING DISASTER: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 AND HURRICANE KATRINA A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in POLITICS with emphasis in FEMINIST STUDIES and LATIN AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDIES by Courtney J. Rivard March 2012 The Dissertation of Courtney J. Rivard is approved: _______________________________ Professor Kent Eaton, Co- Chair _______________________________ Professor Rosa-Linda Fregoso, Co-Chair _______________________________ Professor Angela Davis _______________________________ Professor Ronnie Lipschutz _____________________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright © by Courtney J. Rivard 2012 Table of Contents Table of Illustrations ..................................................................................................... v Abstract ......................................................................................................................... vi Dedication ................................................................................................................. viii Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................... ix Introduction: Preserving the Present for the Past ...................................................... 1 Ethnography of the Archives..................................................................................... 8 Theories of Memory ................................................................................................ 12 Comparing Disaster ................................................................................................. 16 September 11, 2001: Interpreting Shock ................................................................. 19 September 11 th Disaster Collections ....................................................................... 27 Hurricane Katrina: Racialized Frames and Scenarios ............................................. 30 Hurricane Katrina Disaster Collecting .................................................................... 37 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 39 Chapter Outline ....................................................................................................... 40 Chapter Two: Archival Power and the Nation-State ................................................ 48 Introduction: ............................................................................................................ 48 The Origins of Archives and Museums................................................................... 49 Civilizing Subjects through National Memories ..................................................... 54 Archival Construction and the Power to “Impose the Law” ................................... 63 The Power of Archival Procedures ......................................................................... 71 Digitizing Archives ................................................................................................. 78 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 82 Chapter Three: Collecting Disaster: The National Museum of American History and September 11, 2001 ............................................................................................. 84 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 84 Origins of the Smithsonian ...................................................................................... 86 Acquisition Files: Access and Organization .......................................................... 91 Collecting “History-in-the-Making” ....................................................................... 97 Focusing on Loss, Destruction, and Heroism ....................................................... 109 iii Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 128 Chapter Four: A Second Disaster Collection - Hurricane Katrina ....................... 130 Introduction: .......................................................................................................... 130 Access and Organization ....................................................................................... 131 The Hurricane Katrina Collection’s ‘Ethnic Scope’ ............................................. 133 Photography: “Capturing” Disaster Context ......................................................... 136 Objects of Disaster ................................................................................................ 140 The Power to Collect ............................................................................................. 156 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 158 Chapter Five: Archive of the Future: The September 11 Digital Archive ............ 162 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 162 Origins of the Digital Archives ............................................................................. 163 Collection Efforts and Institutional Directions ..................................................... 172 The September 11 Digital Archive’s Virtual Organization .................................. 178 National Belonging and Individual Submissions .................................................. 188 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 199 Chapter Six: Collecting Instant History: The Hurricane Digital Memory Bank . 201 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 201 Constructing a “Memory Bank” ............................................................................ 203 Continuing Digital Disaster Collection Methods .................................................. 207 The Hurricane Digital Memory Bank’s Structure: Innovations and Limitations.. 212 Framing Different Outcomes ................................................................................ 218 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 231 Conclusion: ‘Recognizing’ the Power of Archives ................................................. 233 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 233 Proving Existence: The Pointe-au-Chien’s and BCCM’s Case for Federal Recognition ........................................................................................................... 239 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 254 iv Table of Illustrations Image 1: Window Washer Squeegee Handle……………………………………….111 Image 2: Wallet Recovered from World Trade Center……………………………..121 Image 3: Firefighter’s Pry Bar……………………………………………………...125 Image 4: Banner from Overland Park, Kansas……………………………………..127 Image 5: Calculator recovered from the debris of the World Trade Center………..137 Image 6: This mailbox was all that remained of a home in New Orleans’s Lower Ninth Ward………………………………………………………………………….139 Image 7: Mr. Francisco Zuñiga wearing his back brace……………………………143 Image 8: Vietnamese immigrant shrimper Sang Nguyen and his shrimp boat Miss Brittany……………………………………………………………………………..146 Image 9: The Sign on Rouen Street, with LeBeouf Family………………………...150 Image 10: Mert In NY2……………………………………………………………..168 Image11: NEWYORK MIN-3……………………………………………………...168 Image 12: September 11 Digital Archive Homepage………………………………179 Image 13: September 11 Digital Archive Browse Page……………………………180 Image 14: September 11 Digital Archive Research Page…………………………..181 Image 15: Hurricane Digital Memory Bank Homepage……………………………213 Image 16: Hurricane Digital Memory Bank Browse Page…………………………214 Image 17: Hurricane Digital Memory Bank Browse Images Page…………………215 v Abstract Courtney J. Rivard Archiving Disaster: A Comparative Study of September 11, 2001 and Hurricane Katrina The first decade of the 21 st Century in the United States witnessed two major events that have come to be understood as national disasters: September 11, 2001 and Hurricane Katrina. Numerous historical institutions quickly mobilized to collect material relating to the two events, prompting the creation of what is now referred to as “disaster archives.” Such “disaster archives” turn a number of key tenets in the archival field on their head as they (1) immediately collect material instead of allowing substantial time to pass, (2) collect material that is in a destroyed state rather than in pristine condition, and (3) digitally collect thousands of anonymous online public responses to the two events instead of relying on experts and/or legitimate and verifiable sources. These new collection methods reveal the mechanisms of power involved in the construction of notions of race, sexuality, class, and national belonging through archival production. This dissertation analyzes the birth and implementation of these new disaster archives by tracking the development of the first two instances of disaster archiving