Appraisal as cartography: Cultural studies in the archives

Abstract

Joining interdisciplinary conversations within archival appraisal theory, this article asks 1) how does a cultural studies model of appraisal re-imagine the documentary record for institutional archives, and 2) what are the methodological implications of such an approach? In sketching the theoretical overlaps and divergences between archival studies and cultural studies to locate productive tensions between the two disciplines, this article offers a three-pronged approach to appraisal trained on everyday culture and experience. At stake in broadening current appraisal standards are the politics of institutional memory and the limits of archival responsibility. © Jennifer Douglas and Heather MacNeil.