In the aftermath of the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), the “duty of remembrance” emerged among Lebanese intellectuals as a categorical imperative: a moral commitment to confronting the past, learning from its failures, and rebuilding a divided society.

It was within this context that the “duty of remembrance” became a central objective of UMAM D&R. This commitment found expression in the preservation of written and visual records, objects, and testimonies bearing traces of the past, particularly that of the Lebanese Civil War. Through these materials, UMAM D&R sought to safeguard the traces of a historical period that remain contested, fragmented, and, in many respects, insufficiently addressed.

From the outset, however, “the duty of remembrance” was never simply about accumulating documents. It also involved situating them within exhibitions, discussions, research papers, and other multidisciplinary analytical frameworks that could illuminate their contexts of production, uses, and meanings.

For UMAM D&R, therefore, the duty of remembrance is not an end in itself, just as archiving is not merely an exercise in preserving a bygone past; its significance extends beyond the preservation of historical traces. It is a means of interrogating the present by bringing to light historical continuities and ruptures, as well as the tensions, silences, and unresolved questions that persist within our contemporary society.

Researching UMAM D&R’s archives is therefore about exploring what these materials enable us to understand about our history, our society, and the world we inhabit today. It is also about recognizing that archives are not neutral repositories: the traces they preserve, the voices they make audible, and the silences they reveal all shape how the past can be understood, remembered and even denied.

Archives are spaces in which the past is not only safeguarded, but also questioned, interpreted, and critically examined. Their value lies in their capacity to transform narratives into objects of inquiry and to make them available for knowledge production.