Grief and Trauma in the Archives

Abstract

Reporting on a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews, this paper seeks to elucidate the nature and factors associated with emotional responses in archivists working with records detailing human suffering and atrocity, and working with individuals in the community whose lives intersect with the archives. Results detail the impact of these exposures on archivists; and factors influencing emotional responses to traumatic exposures such as the nature of exposure, personal history and connections to the traumatic material, professional engagement and expectations, and the organizational context. Recommendations for mitigating the emotional toll of archival work arising from the data are presented.

Keywords:

• Archives
• secondary trauma
• workplace trauma

Data availability statement

The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cheryl Regehr

Cheryl Regehr is a Professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto, and holds cross appointments in the Faculty of Law and the Institute for Medical Sciences. She presently serves as Vice-President and Provost of the University of Toronto.

Wendy Duff

Wendy Duff is a Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. She has conducted numerous collaborative projects with academics and professional archivists, and served on committees of professional associations and advisory boards.

Henria Aton

Henria Aton is an archivist PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information. Her doctoral research focuses on archives and archival practices in postcolonial and postwar Sri Lanka.

Christa Sato

Christa Sato is a PhD student in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. Her doctoral research focuses on exploring decolonial approaches to intergenerational trauma and healing among Pilipina/o/x diasporic families in Canada.