Introduction- Phantom Archives in a Dispersed History

The present issue of JQ is the first of two special issues that focus on the UN agency for Palestinian refugee relief and its troubled history, reflecting a multidisciplinary approach, engaging and connecting historical, anthropological, and sociological methods. Originally conceived as a single issue, the number and variety of contributions has led us to publish two separate issues, with diverse but complementary scopes and contents. This issue concentrates on the history of the UNRWA archives from their creation to the present; the trajectories and various placements of the written, oral, and visual collections; the politics behind their material and digital preservation policies; their appearance, dispersion or cessation; conditions of access and denial; and intertwining curatorial practices, critical archival theory, and politics. policies; their appearance, dispersion, or cessation; conditions of access or denial; and intertwining curatorial practices, critical archival theory, and politics.