Living documents, dying archives:towards a historical anthropology of medieval arabic archives

العنوانLiving documents, dying archives:towards a historical anthropology of medieval arabic archives
Publication TypeJournal Article
AuthorsEl-Leithy, T
JournalAl-Qanṭara
VolumeXXXII-2
2011
Issuejulio-diciembre 2011
Pagination389-434
ISSN0211-3589
Arabic documents, Archives, Dhimmis, Mamlûk Egypt-Syria
Based on an analysis of several collections of Medieval Arabic documents, this paper argues for the study of "archiving practises", which selectively use documents as parts of wider social strategies of group formation and reproduction. This method also allows us to uncover the temporality (life-cycle) of documents and archives, including thier dispersal, cycles of obsolescence and recycling; tactics of erasure, and deliberate destruction.
Refereed DesignationRefereed