ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the self-documentation component of the Occupy Archive offers a collectively produced autoethnography of the intersecting structures and practices employed by activist communities and archivists. In contrast to the expectation that processes of documentation generate a neutral and objective recording of the ‘truth’ of any event for historical purposes, the working group sought to contribute a direct form of embodied participant action and reflection to the movement. The actions of the Occupy Wall Street Archives Working Group – both in collecting protest signs and in documenting the processes involved in forming the movement – play a key role in demonstrating how the knowledge practices of social movements contribute different ways of addressing the failure of ‘business as usual’ conventions. The Archives Working Group created collections that would preserve the authority of Occupy Wall Street over its image and legacy.
