Building alternative archives. A reappraisal of Dwelling in the Archive by Antoinette Burton

In 2003 Antoinette Burton, a leading feminist historian of the British empire, published her book Dwelling in the Archive. Women Writing House, Home, and History in Late Colonial India. In this work, Burton argues for a radical redefinition of the archive through a critical exploration of reports, novels, and memoirs by three Indian women. Twenty years after its publication, Burton's book remains one of the most influential accounts of feminist archival methodologies. This article offers a rereading of Dwelling in the Archive and highlights the various ways in which feminist scholars have recently developed Burton's arguments. In particular, the article points at Dalit and antiracist approaches as examples of innovative feminist archival work.