d . garcia on Sat, 31 Jul 2021 11:33:08 +0200 (CEST)


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Re: <nettime> Let the Archive Speak 


Hi Ryan, thanks for the encouraging words and the link to what looks
a very useful book by Debbie Gould.. I know it a little but have not
yet fully engaged but I will.
There is one general point I would add to what I took from Schulman's book 
and that is the answer to the question of what makes an archive into a
'living archive' and that is the act of actively reading and re-reading.

Schulman does this by returning to certain questions around 'how
happens'. And in relationship to this the importance of periods of latency. Schulman quotes second wave feminist philosopher Ti-Grace Atkinson observing in 1968 that women in society can only progress when men progress. If men do not move, 
women remain suppressed.
Atkinson goes on to assert that the great leaps of progress cannot be forced they 
depend on the zeitgeist. But that the interim periods of latency are
vitally important where small groups of people continue to practice what Gary Indiana called the “politics of repetition,” trying to stop the rate of giveback and regression. So when the zeitgeist moment hits -and AIDS activism was one of those moments- there is a mass surge forward as a movement forces the creation of social space 
where persistent voices can finally be heard.

Best

David

On 2021-07-30 18:50, Ryan Griffis wrote:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Schulman’s book and personal
reflections on ACT-UP’s significance, David. It definitely sounds like
it’s worth checking out, even if one has read/viewed much of the other
accounts of ACT-UP, so I really appreciate your taking the time to
post this!
I also wanted to make a plug for another, slightly older (and more
academic) book by Debbie Gould - ”Moving Politics” that also focuses
on the role of affect in ACT-UP and AIDS activism, just in case others
are interested in more reading.
A PDF is even available here:
https://transreads.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-07-15_60f0412da8a40_deborah-gould-moving-politics-emotion-and-act-ups-fight-against-aids.pdf
Take care,
Ryan


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