History’s epistemological dilemma equally applies to sociology: how can we make claims about persons, events, and processes on the basis of archival records? This article develops a framework called Life on File that combines sociological strengths in qualitative methodologies and an interest in how states shape populations, with library and information sciences’ attention to documentary production and anthropological and historical insights into the intersections of archives, knowledge, and power. The framework has three components: the act of recovery of life, processes, and events; the turning of life into a record; and the movement of a file from collection to preservation and use. The result is a methodologically rigorous and globally mobile theory. Empirically, the piece draws on comparative historical fieldwork on state-led racial classification and naturalization practices preserved in Japanese and German archives. While the framework is grounded in research on state archives, its utility extends across types of archives and records. In addition, it provides sociologists with a roadmap on how to use archives in single case as well as comparative and transnational research.

中文翻译：

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档案生活：档案认识论和理论

历史的认识论困境同样适用于社会学：我们如何根据档案记录对人、事件和过程做出声明？本文开发了一个名为 Life on File 的框架，该框架结合了定性方法中的社会学优势和对国家如何塑造人口的兴趣，以及图书馆和信息科学对文献制作的关注以及对档案、知识和权力交叉点的人类学和历史洞察力. 该框架具有三个组成部分：生命恢复行为、过程和事件；把生活变成记录；以及文件从收藏到保存和使用的移动。其结果是一种方法论严谨且全球流动的理论。根据经验，这件作品借鉴了保存在日本和德国档案中的国家主导的种族分类和归化实践的比较历史田野工作。虽然该框架以对国家档案馆的研究为基础，但其效用可扩展到档案和记录的类型。此外，它还为社会学家提供了如何在单个案例以及比较和跨国研究中使用档案的路线图。