Processing the Past

Processing the Past explores the dramatic changes taking place in historical understanding and archival management and in the relations between historians and archivists. Written by an archivist and a historian, it shows how these changes have been brought on by new historical thinking, new conceptions of archives, changing notions of historical authority, modifications in archival practices, and new information technologies. The book situates archives as subjects rather than places of study and examines the increasingly problematic relationships between historical and archival work. The authors contend that though historians and archivists once occupied the same conceptual and methodological space, they have divided into two separate professions with distinct conceptual frameworks and understandings of the authorities that govern their work: historians now ask questions not easily answered by traditional documentation, and archivists confront the challenges of new technologies and increases in the amounts of material they process. Blouin and Rosenberg conclude by raising the question of what future historical archives might be like if historical scholars and archivists no longer understand each other. a challenging and stimulating book Valerie Johnson, Business Archives This is an important study focusing on historiography as it discusses how historical knowledge is shaped and managed. It is a must read for both historians and archivists. Nuper Chaudhuri, American Historical ReviewINTRODUCTION: ON THE INTERSECTIONS OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY ; PART I: ARCHIVES, HISTORY, AND THE OPENING OF THE ARCHIVAL DIVIDE ; CHAPTER 1 - AUTHORITATIVE HISTORY AND AUTHORITATIVE ARCHIVES ; CHAPTER 2 - THE TURN AWAY FROM HISTORICAL AUTHORITY IN THE ARCHIVES ; CHAPTER 3 - ARCHIVAL AUTHORITIES AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES ; CHAPTER 4 - THE TURN AWAY FROM ARCHIVAL AUTHORITY IN HISTORY ; CHAPTER 5 - ARCHIVAL ESSENTIALISM AND THE ARCHIVAL DIVIDE ; PART II: PROCESSING THE PAST ; CHAPTER 6 - THE SOCIAL MEMORY PROBLEM ; CHAPTER 7 - CONTESTED ARCHIVES, CONTESTED SOURCES ; CHAPTER 8 - THE ARCHIVIST AS ACTIVIST IN THE PRODUCTION OF (HISTORICAL) KNOWLEDGE ; CHAPTER 9 - RETHINKING ARCHIVAL POLITICS: TRUST, TRUTH, AND THE LAW ; CHAPTER 10 - ARCHIVES AND THE CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE ; CHAPTER 11 - CAN ARCHIVES AND HISTORY RECONNECT: BRIDGING THE ARCHIVAL DIVIDE ; INDEX