Hauntology, archivy and banditry: an engagement with Derrida and Zapiro

Abstract

In this article, I explore what I call ‘primary spectral movements’ in archive. My exploration is positioned within a framing provided by Derridean hauntology. I suggest that spectral readings of archive unfold fresh epistemologies and ontologies. Drawing on the work of scholars Jacques Derrida, Esther Peeren and Jacob Dlamini, as well as cartoonist Zapiro, I focalise particular ghosted voices and narratives in 2015 South Africa. This becomes the basis for a call to what I name ‘archive banditry’ – a strategy, if not a praxis, to create space for ghosts in oppressive societal contexts.

Keywords:

• archive
• banditry
• deconstruction
• Derrida
• ghosts
• hauntology
• Zapiro

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Verne Harris

Verne Harris is an Honorary Research Fellow, University of Cape Town