ABSTRACT

This paper applies the methodological premise of the ‘social life of things’ to give insight into the context and movements of a collection of records found at the Norwegian National Archive, that contribute to the documentation of the Armenian Genocide. A study of the life of this collection tells the story of Norwegian missionaries in the Ottoman Empire in 1915, their witnessing of the Genocide and the subsequent activations of the records. It explores the use and impact of these records in Norway, which have led to international collaborations for the historical memory of Armenia and acknowledgement of the Genocide, taking a different political stand to that of the Norwegian government. Nevertheless, silences have been encoded in the making of the archives, the making of narratives, and at the moment of retrospective significance. It highlights the circumscribing predominance of national narratives to documents and raises questions about the silences in other missionary archives in Norway.

摘要

本文运用“事物的社会生活”的方法论前提来深入了解挪威国家档案馆中发现的一系列记录的背景和运动，这些记录有助于记录亚美尼亚种族灭绝。对该藏品生活的研究讲述了 1915 年在奥斯曼帝国的挪威传教士的故事，他们目睹了种族灭绝以及随后的记录激活。它探讨了这些记录在挪威的使用和影响，这些记录导致了亚美尼亚历史记忆的国际合作和对种族灭绝的承认，采取了与挪威政府不同的政治立场。然而，沉默已被编码在档案的制作、叙述的制作以及具有追溯意义的时刻。