My research examines how official records that document vulnerability are handled by the people responsible for managing them. How do professional archivists perceive and judge vulnerability, and how do they deal with the disclosure of sensitive information to people who request it? Archivists are not anonymous bureaucratic agents who mechanically carry out their work according to fixed procedures. On the contrary, they actively assess the relevance of information they may or may not disclose to people who request access to various documents. How exactly do they do this? And what are the consequences of them doing so (or not)? The research will address issues of dignity and privacy, as well as of dependence and the politics and ethics of revelation.
Contact: ida.gronroos@abm.uu.se
