On September 26, 2024, CDHM welcomed speakers Giuliano Fleri and Francesco Corradini to present their respective reports on research conducted to expand the CDHM's understanding of the archival landscape both within the Graduate Institute and beyond among key international and non-governmental organizations, with the goal of targeting further avenues of research for the Centre's foci. High-level takeaways included better understanding archivists' priorities, archival access and the risks to mitigate in maintaining archival work, as well as the importance of transparency and precise methodologies in the selection of archival samples. See more detail below.
Abstract: Giuliano Fleri's Report on Geneva International Archives is based on research conducted at international and non-governmental organizations in and around Geneva between March and July 2024. The aim of the document is to provide the Centre for Digital Humanities & Multilateralism (CDHM) with an overview of the landscape of international historical archives in the city. The report is divided into three sections. The introduction highlights key themes and major challenges common to all the archives reviewed. The second section presents the individual profiles of 13 international archives, offering more in-depth analyses of each archive. The final section draws conclusions and outlines recommendations for collaborative projects between the CDHM and international organizations.
Abstract: Francesco Corradini's report describes a sample of archival materials within the scope of the CDHM. It presents materials from two different repositories: 1) the Geneva Graduate Institute’s institutional archives, focusing on the HEI collections, and 2) the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva, focusing on a sample of private papers. First, with respect to the HEI collections, the materials presented are organized thematically according to seven categories: 1) academic committees/preparatory work; 2) student files; 3) correspondence; 4) mémoires de diplôme; 5) short lectures (cours temporaires)/conferences; 6) research centers/projects; 7) professors of international law. This report focuses on six international law scholars who taught at the Graduate Institute. These are: Eugène Borel (1862-1955), Georges Scelle (1878-1961), Hans Wehberg (1885-1962), Maurice Bourquin (1884-1961), Pierre Lalive (1923-2014) and Michel Virally (1922-1989). For each of them, it provides a short introductory paragraph and describes some archival materials about them, which could complement the information that future students will gather to survey their writings. Second, with respect to the collections in the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva, the report provides a sample of the private papers (papiers privés) of Charles De Visscher, Martin Hill, William Martin, Nicolas Politis, Royall Tyler. These personalities were connected with Geneva-based international organizations in the interwar period, especially the League of Nations, and related to the history of international law and multilateralism. Based on this sampling, the report identifies three possible research paths in connection with the use and digitization of the archives included in this sample: 1) The historical sociology of international organizations and economic law; 2) International law students and their technical instruments ; 3) The democratization of international legal education. Recommendations on the digitization of the select materials are provided. The report concludes by identifying other salient repositories that fall within the ambit of the Center on Digital Humanities & Multilateralism. Private papers that could fall within the scope of the CDHM include the papers of Krystyna Marek, Manley Hudson and Östen Undén. Textual materials from key institutional settings such as the Permanent Court of International Justice and the Hague Academy of International Law should also be included. Creating linkages with materials from these repositories could help enrich the future Portal on Multilateralism.
Bio: Giuliano Fleri is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center of Digital Humanities & Multilateralism, where he is currently conducting research on Geneva's international archives. He earned his PhD in International History from the Geneva Graduate Institute in 2023, with a dissertation on 20th-century migration patterns between Tunisia and Italy. Between 2018 and 2024, Giuliano worked on several projects as consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Records and Archives Section. In 2021, he was a SNF visiting fellow at the Institut für Europäische Ethnologie in Berlin. Presently, he is working on his forthcoming monograph, 'People Among Nations. Migrations and Allegiances between Sicily and Tunisia 1900s-1970s' slated for publication by Brill Publishers.
Bio: Francesco Corradini is a PhD Candidate International Law (minor Anthropology and Sociology), at The Graduate Institute, where he also received his MA in International Law. His research focuses on local and international governance, transnational law, knowledge society, and knowledge networks. His latest project is: Interface Law - Legal Interactions between Spheres of Authority in Global Economic Governance.