Session Abstract

This session will discuss Processing the Past: Contesting Authority in History and the Archives by Francis Blouin (head of the Bentley Library at Michigan) and William Rosenberg (former vice president of the Division). The book raises important questions for any historian with an interest in the archives, by exploring  the dramatic changes the relations between historians and archivists brought on by new modes of historical thinking, new conceptions of archives, changing notions of historical authority, modifications in archival practices, and new information technologies. The asks what future historical archives might be like if historical scholars and archivists no longer understand each other, and tries to initiate a much-needed dialogue about these issues.