In recent decades, our understanding of archives has evolved beyond the familiar, institutional archive carefully tended to by a small group of trained professionals. Movements such as...Show moreIn recent decades, our understanding of archives has evolved beyond the familiar, institutional archive carefully tended to by a small group of trained professionals. Movements such as postcolonialism and postcustodialism, combined with the digital turn, have allowed interest in other, less conventional forms of archiving to emerge. As such, the concept of an archival continuum (that is, the understanding of archives as evolving and participatory systems rather than fixed institutions) has been accepted by archival scholarship. This thesis investigates whether printed family memoirs that incorporate visual material from family archives can be placed along said archival continuum. Four such memoirs – The Hare with Amber Eyes (2010), In Memory of Memory (2018), Heimat: A German Family Album (2018), and Letters to Camondo (2021) – have been selected as case studies by which to examine their potential archival and evidentiary value. Each memoir is a work of postmemory – following Marianne Hirsch, the authors are processing generational trauma passed down as a result of the Holocaust. I argue that it is not only the narratives that lend them archival value, but also their inclusion of archival material. As I will show, understanding published memoirs as archives supports an expanded recognition of non-professional memory work as archival. Importantly, the increased accessibility of published memoirs to a general audience versus that of conventional archives allows for greater interaction with the preserved objects, and so aids in supporting the societal memorialization of the Holocaust. By focusing on the paper editions of the books, I am able to examine the unique benefits and challenges of the printed book as a form of accessible archive and memory object.Show less
In this thesis, I have looked at the influence of the internet on academic publishing and, as a consequence, academic culture and practice. I have tried to present a plausible narrative on how...Show moreIn this thesis, I have looked at the influence of the internet on academic publishing and, as a consequence, academic culture and practice. I have tried to present a plausible narrative on how academic work on a daily basis has changed and what consequences there are for the role of books. The efficient digital distribution of journal articles through the digital library have made the article relevant in two new ways: (1) it is now the single most important means of scholarly output, at the cost of books; and (2) it is almost always accessed digitally, often not through the journal title, but directly through a full bibliographical reference search request or as one of the results of a search query on topic, key word or other sort of search entry. The instant availability of almost all peer-reviewed journal articles ever published is a great contribution to the world of science, for obvious reasons. It comes with certain costs to it as well, however. Finding and accessing articles with such ease makes the book a relatively more difficult-to-access item. Especially for a new generation of students, the book seems less relevant. They are presented with articles more than books, and come from a background in which books are less prominent. For scholars, an article is easier to write than a book, but it counts as more when their citation indices are put together. A vicious circle comes into being. As an academic’s publication record becomes more important in order to keep his job, he will choose to write more articles. University libraries focus on presenting the articles efficiently in a digital manner and make the library into a computer workspace instead of a place for searching and reading books. The digital availability of articles leads to less diversity in sources and the older the titles the less they are cited. Publishing companies are faced with lower demand for books and are struggling to make ends meet financially. Every step of this circle in itself doesn’t lead to a catastrophe, but it is the feedback loop that strengthens itself and the aggregate outcome that causes us to be worried about the future of books in academia.Show less
