Den auratiska artefakten : Begränsningar och möjligheter i den digitala reproduktionen av kulturarv

Sammanfattning: The digital copy is rapidly becoming the dominant form in which researchers encounter cultural heritage. In this situation, the relation between the original and the digital reproduction has become a crucial, yet too little discussed problem. This thesis investigates this relation through two questions: (1) Which is the ontological status of the reproduction in relation to the original, and (2) How is the original mediated to its digital format? Question (1) is answered in dialogue with previous research: The reproduction is a new artefact, but with a relation (of similiarity) to the original. It is the understanding of this relation that the remaining part of the thesis tries to deepen and around which the second question revolves. This more empirical question (2)is examined through a comparative analysis of a physical original—the 17th century album amicorum of Gottfried Schröer—and its digitisation in the platform Alvin.The informative dimensions “context”, “materiality”, “textbased information”, and the category “aura” are investigated in the original and in the digital reproduction. For this purpose, Walter Benjamin’s concept “aura” is critically discussed and redefined as an analytical concept, and the research question is rephrased in terms of (a) which qualities are transfered, (b) not transfered, and (c) if/how they are transformed during the transfer to the digital format. It is also asked which consequences this might have for the artefact as a source of information. The analysis is positioned in a materiality discourse, adopting perspectives from, i.a., Actor-Network Theory and Material Philology. In this context, a widened concept of materiality is also developed, allowing the inclusion of the “virtual”. The thesis identifies aspects in which the reproduction differs from the original, depending, among other things, on its own materiality. This strengthens the call for users’ information competency when interacting with digital reproductions. This is a two years masters's thesis in library and information science.