Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Politics and International Relations
Reader 1
Owen Brown
Reader 2
Mar Golub
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
2024 Jane O Lovett
Abstract
This thesis explores the politics of memory and archival power in student activism at Scripps College, arguing that archives are active sites where social power is negotiated and contested. Using frameworks of institutional versus collective memory and John Gaventa’s three dimensions of power, it examines how architectural, digital, and physical archives shape narratives of resistance and institutional authority. Case studies, including the Drop Sodexo campaign, Scripps Graffiti Wall, and the Liberation Through Education movement, demonstrate how students use archives to assert agency, counter institutional narratives, and sustain political momentum. The study highlights the co-optation of activism by institutional actors and students' strategic use of memory to build community and amplify their power. Ultimately, by analyzing archival practices and their influence, this thesis underscores the essential role of archives in preserving the past and enabling future political resistance.
Recommended Citation
Lovett, Jane Orkand, "The Politics of Memory: The Memorialization of Student Protests and the Archive" (2025). Scripps Senior Theses. 2509.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/2509
