Dr. Elizabeth Shaffer

Biography

Elizabeth Shaffer is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Information. As a critical archives scholar, she investigates the intersections of race, gender, digital infrastructures, and technologies. Her research questions focus on how information policy, practices, and systems emerge and evolve in contemporary digital spaces, particularly regarding social justice issues and the impacts of colonialism. Shaffer's current work integrates Black Studies with archival research to better understand memory production within contested archival sites. She leads the archive team for the SSHRC-funded Transformative Memory International Network, which engages Indigenous and Black Southern knowledges to explore memories conceived, documented, and practiced in public policy contexts related to mass atrocity. Before joining the iSchool, she served as the Executive Director at the UBC Indian Residential School History Dialogue Centre and as the Director of Collections at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, where she focused on digitization, preservation, and educational uses of Holocaust survivor testimonies to support anti-racism education. Elizabeth's work is deeply rooted in social justice and the critical examination of how histories are archived and remembered.

Research Interests