Introduction: Archival Crossings – A Mobile Archive Research Cluster

Abstract Initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mobile Archive project explores how archival research has adapted to the digital age. This is an ongoing, flexible inquiry into the status of the archive in Colonial and Early American Studies for our present day. In 2021, scholars from the US, Mexico, and Germany started the research project to examine how the shift from physical to digital archives has influenced knowledge organization, access, and historical narratives. Key discussions include the mobility of knowledge, the role of colonial legacies in archival practice, and the complexities of digitization. In this Anglia research cluster, we want to foster interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars, archivists, and university teachers. Here, we rethink archives as dynamic spaces that challenge traditional boundaries and promote more inclusive, decolonized scholarship. This introduction lays out the themes explored in this research cluster.