The Postcolonial Archive and Methods: Field Notes from the Tanzania National Archives

Abstract

This article examines the methodological considerations that a historically underfunded and underresourced postcolonial archive presents for researchers. Drawing on field notes from research carried out at the Tanzania National Archives in August 2019, I examine how political and economic conditions shape the Archives and how the shape of the Archives in turn shapes researchers’ methodological options and choices. I begin by tracing the history of the Tanzania National Archives’ colonial collections alongside political and economic changes in colonial Tanzania. I argue that ruptures and discontinuities in the Archives are not only the result of changes in colonial administration but also reflect changes in local and regional political and economic relations. Next, I question how economic restructuring in the postcolonial period shaped the Tanzania National Archives. I then draw on my experience carrying out archival research in Tanzania to demonstrate how researchers must address lapses in recordkeeping, the damage and destruction of documents, erratic regulatory systems, and the limitation of sources to government records. I conclude by arguing that although a sparse and fragmented postcolonial archive necessitates a dynamic and generative methodological approach, often engaging multiple epistemic regimes, issues surrounding funding and resources remain essential to the accessibility of the archives and the imperative to produce knowledge from a pan-African perspective.