Archivists, Mediation, and Constructs of Social Memory

Abstract

What is our past and how do we know it? The authority of archival documentation as the foundation for our knowledge of the past has come under question. Increased interest in cultural studies and in new concepts of heritage has made archives not only a place of study but also the object of study. Some scholars are arguing that archives are not neutral parties in the process of exploration of the past. They may, in fact, be complicit in fostering certain perceptions based on institutional definitions and particular concepts of the state. Questions are also raised about the role of the archivist as a mediator between what has survived and what we know. How are archivists to respond to these new questions?

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