In an era where the legacies of colonialism and political upheaval remain deeply embedded in social structures, the critical examination of archives that document histories of violence has become an urgent task for scholars and activists alike. A forthcoming public event at Goethe University Frankfurt promises to delve into the complexities of engaging with archives that embody colonial, historical, political, and racial violence, questioning not only how these collections are examined but also how researchers might employ modes of counter-investigation to challenge the dominant narratives these archives often perpetuate. The discussion will center on innovative forensic methods, aesthetic engagements, and the ethical imperatives of restitution and reparation within archival research.
Critical archival investigation often grapples with what has been left unsaid, erased, or silenced in dominant historical records. This event foregrounds questions about epistemic violence— the harm enacted through the systematic marginalization or misrepresentation of particular groups within historical records. The forensic turn in archival studies mobilizes interdisciplinary techniques, from digital reconstructions to spatial analyses, that root investigations in material evidence even where textual sources have failed or been manipulated. Such counter-investigations seek not only to recover obscured truths but also to render visible ongoing dynamics of power encoded in archival silences.
A notable feature of the discussion will be the incorporation of Forensic Architecture’s methodologies, which exemplify the fusion of architectural analysis, spatial forensics, and investigative research into violent events. Forensic Architecture operates at the intersection of technology, law, and human rights, using sophisticated digital modeling to reconstruct events of political violence. Their work on the Ovaherero and Nama genocide, an often overlooked chapter of German colonial history, highlights how technological precision combined with critical inquiry can challenge official denials and compel legal and moral accountability.
The event expands the conversation beyond technical tools to aesthetic practices, asking how art and media can function as modes of counter-investigation that destabilize hegemonic archives. Through documentary and non-fiction film, as well as other media forms, researchers explore how narratives of violence and resistance can be reclaimed and rearticulated. This focus intersects with contemporary debates in digital film culture, emphasizing the role of private media traces and intimate recordings as revolutionary forms of archival evidence that contest state and institutional narratives.
Integral to the discussion is consideration of the Frankfurt University Library’s “Koloniales Bildarchiv” (Colonial Image Archive), a collection housing visual materials from German colonial history. This archive exemplifies the tensions between preservation and the perpetuation of colonial imaginations, posing profound ethical questions about access, curatorial responsibility, and the possibilities for restitution. The event builds on an earlier “Autopsies” discussion at the library, where scholars and curators reflected on archival practices through first-hand observation of materials, aligning with the series’ etymological origins of “seeing with one’s own eyes.”
The roundtable gathering includes experts from diverse but interconnected fields. Agata Nguyen Chuong, a lead researcher at Forensic Architecture, brings specialized knowledge about forensic investigations into genocide studies, illuminating how spatial and material analysis supports legal processes of reparation. Laliv Melamed, a professor of digital film culture, contributes critical insights into how private media and intimate representations function as traces of colonial violence, expanding media studies’ engagement with historical trauma. Felix Trautmann and Franziska Wildt, researchers at the Institute for Social Research, reflect on artistic interventions and the politics of aesthetic engagement with right-wing violence and broader structures of epistemic injustice.
This multidisciplinary approach underscores the event’s commitment to blending empirical, theoretical, and creative modes of inquiry, situating archival investigation as a radical practice encompassing both scientific rigor and cultural critique. Counter-investigation thus involves a methodological reckoning with the archive as an active site of violence and resistance, where historical narratives are contested and reshaped.
The forensic methods under discussion emphasize acute attentiveness to the materiality of evidence. This includes analyzing spatial relationships within archival images, scrutinizing the layering of archives over time, and employing digital technologies that enhance the visibility of acts of violence that might otherwise be dismissed as anecdotal. Such techniques reinforce the tangible reality of past and present violences, challenging the abstraction or historicization that often distances contemporary observers from the immediacy of suffering.
Moreover, aesthetic practices incorporated into counter-investigation push the boundaries of archival engagement by questioning what counts as evidence and who has the authority to narrate historical truth. Artistic explorations that document and expose erasure, silencing, and ongoing epistemic violence engage audiences affectively as well as intellectually, forging empathetic connections across temporal and cultural divides. These interventions challenge the objectivity claimed by traditional archives, revealing their embeddedness in colonial and violent power structures.
Central to the event is an interrogation of restitution and reparation, themes now gaining broader attention amid global movements addressing colonial legacies. The act of restitution involves recognizing the ongoing harms caused by historical injustices and considering how archives can become instruments for restorative justice rather than perpetuators of harm. This includes discussions about the legal and ethical obligations of institutions holding colonial artifacts and records as well as the involvement of communities whose histories have been marginalized.
The Frankfurt setting itself is seminal. With its rich and expansive collection spanning medieval manuscripts to modern archival estates, the University Library’s holdings exemplify both the challenges and potentials of archival research today. Its acquisition and preservation policies reflect historical power dynamics, making it a pertinent site for critical engagement with colonial and political violence. The “Autopsies” series, within which this event is situated, encourages collaborative dialogues that disrupt conventional divides between curators and scholars, signaling a shift toward more reflexive and participatory archival practices.
This upcoming roundtable represents a pivotal moment in scholarly and public dialogue about how archives of violence should be approached moving forward. It promises to reveal new frameworks for understanding not only the content of such archives but also the ethical imperatives that govern their use and interpretation. The conversation illuminates the intersections of media, forensic science, art, and social research as essential to a transformative engagement with historical and contemporary violence.
Ultimately, the event invites audiences to reconsider the archive not as a neutral repository of past facts but as a contested, living site where histories, politics, and identities are continuously negotiated. By integrating forensic technologies with critical theory and aesthetic practice, researchers are forging new pathways that reveal the archives’ latent possibilities as tools of resistance and social justice.
This discourse resonates in a wider global context where demands for transparency, accountability, and acknowledgment of past wrongs inform debates in museums, libraries, and courts worldwide. As societies reckon with legacies of colonization and political repression, the models of counter-investigation highlighted in this event offer innovative and urgently needed methods for engaging with difficult pasts through rigor, creativity, and ethical commitment.
Subject of Research: Critical engagement with archives of colonial, historical, political, and racial violence through forensic methods, aesthetic practices, and counter-investigation.
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Keywords: archival investigation, forensic architecture, colonial violence, counter-investigation, epistemic violence, media studies, restitution, reparation, aesthetic practices, political violence, digital film culture, Frankfurt University Library
