Archives as worldmaking

This paper introduces the special issue ‘Archives as worldmaking’. Moving beyond the traditional focus on archives as tools of nation- or empire-building, the special issue posits archiving as a foundational practice of political worldmaking. It therefore emphasises the mechanics of worldmaking, as much as its diverse political manifestations. The paper first provides an overview of recent scholarship on archives and worldmaking within geography and related fields. It then presents the specific contributions to the special issue, organised around the key themes of worldmaking's plurality, its situated nature, and its connection to institution-building. The paper concludes by outlining four future research directions: colonial logics, racial capitalism, misinformation, and the role of archivists. • Examines developments in the study of archives in historical geography. • Links this scholarship with the inter-disciplinary study of “worldmaking” as an expansive political project. • Presents the collection's key contribution: how archival construction and use shapes worldmaking projects. • Summarises contributions to the special issue under themes of plurality, situatedness and institution-building. • Reflects on future research directions, including coloniality, carcerality, misinformation, and working with archivists.