Identity formations in archived childhood memories of nature in Sweden

Abstract

This paper analyzes how the relation between childhood and nature contributes to the formation of identities though childhood memories written for archival purposes. Archival research lets us consider how written childhood memories of nature are formed, producing social identities through practices of archiving. The archived memories of 50 people in Sweden are analyzed, concentrating on how they described their childhood memories of nature. Understanding memories as performances of identity can give important answers as to how the idealized relationship between nature and childhood is constructed in the specific context of archivation.