What is Thrown Into Lethe, and Why? An Exploratory Study of the Discursive Construction of the Concept of Appraisal

Abstract in Undetermined
The purpose of this paper is to explore how discourse-analytic conceptual genealogy can be used as a complementary approach to broaden the understanding of archives in the ‘information age’. The main argument is that discourse analysis of the historical transformations of pivotal archival concepts can provide important insights into how archives understand and position themselves in relation to contemporary society. The empirical basis of the paper is a historical case study of the archival concept of appraisal, performed using Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The source material used was approximately 280 pages of documents produced in six appraisal investigations of the Swedish Police's archives, conducted by the Swedish National Archives in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The results of the study indicate that a range of discourses, including an institution discourse, several research discourses, and a preservation discourse, structured the Swedish National Archives’ appraisal of the police archives during the period of study. The study suggests that there is a need for further empirically based studies of the conceptual construction of important dimensions of archival thought and practice. This is made evident when looking at the results of the case study; the conception of what information is worth preserving in the archives is, in part, determined by contextual and often implicit factors. By using the suggested method of discourse-analytic conceptual genealogy, it is possible to create a better understanding of how an important part of our cultural heritage and societal memory - the one stored in the archives - comes into being.