Multiple voices in a majlis: the growth of archives in the United Arab Emirates and the role of New York University Abu Dhabi

Abstract

The rapid societal transformation that resulted from the oil boom of the 1960s and 1970s in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and later the United Arab Emirates, impacted the ways in which historical information was recorded, transmitted, and preserved. Oral poetic and storytelling traditions were supplanted by written records, which in turn led to the formation of the nascent state’s first archival institution in 1968. A half-century later, with the establishment of New York University’s campus in Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), and the formation of an archival repository within its newly opened library, the question remained of how an archive could best document a dynamic and diverse society, especially one in which written records are still sparse. This paper will look at the development of the NYUAD Archives and Special Collections, both in light of the larger archival landscape of the UAE, as well as some of the specific collections it has acquired over the past decade. In conclusion, the author will assert that such academic archival repositories have a useful role to play in preserving and making accessible the region’s documentary heritage and will suggest some questions to explore in doing so.