History and memory have a profound affect on our immediate existence and situation. Issues that surround the problematic of history and the day-to-day troubles of memory are extensive. Often, such issues are reflected in the archive, which has to deal with not only a multitude of potential information, but also the thorny matters of truth and knowledge production;
(Foucault, The Order of Things, p. 237-238)
Much like our awareness of memory, Carolyn Steedman recognizes the ways in which the archive works, more often than not. She recognizes that the archive is not so much an obvious gold mine of information; rather, it consists of a great accumulation of seemingly mundane information. The presence of this information is regularly informed by the characteristics of the archivist. While the archive itself is often unclear in its production of a narrative (although I would not deny its existence), it is even more noticeable after selected material is used. Often the archive is utilized as a great library of information from which particular documents, objects etc. are selected and used in order to establish a narrative of one sort or another. It is at this point that the archive leaves it static position and becomes fluid, through engagement from an outside body. However, there is then a point through which the archived material becomes embedded in a narrative and this narrative is arguably even more static than its original components. The second hand nature of such a narrative makes dangerous gestures towards an intrinsic ‘truth’.
Much like our awareness of memory, Carolyn Steedman recognizes the ways in which the archive works, more often than not. She recognizes that the archive is not so much an obvious gold mine of information; rather, it consists of a great accumulation of seemingly mundane information. The presence of this information is regularly informed by the characteristics of the archivist. While the archive itself is often unclear in its production of a narrative (although I would not deny its existence), it is even more noticeable after selected material is used. Often the archive is utilized as a great library of information from which particular documents, objects etc. are selected and used in order to establish a narrative of one sort or another. It is at this point that the archive leaves it static position and becomes fluid, through engagement from an outside body. However, there is then a point through which the archived material becomes embedded in a narrative and this narrative is arguably even more static than its original components. The second hand nature of such a narrative makes dangerous gestures towards an intrinsic ‘truth’.
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