Historia i original : Legitimitet och historiesyn på Riksarkivets webbplats

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study is to analyze the texts and images appearing on the internet homepage of the Swedish national archive - riksarkivet.se. This is done by using the discourse analysis theory, as it is presented by Laclau and Mouffe. By using this as a theory and method my goal is to highlight the way the website presents their historical perspective, as well as how they legitimize themselves as an institution of knowledge, historical studies, and national heritage. Also, I aim to show the connection between these different elements. To highlight some of my findings i will also use archives.gov, the website representing the national archives of the United States of America. This will be used to pinpoint some of the more unique national factors of the Swedish national archives. The results show that the site allows a couple of different view on history with focus either on “great men” or on “common people”. This can be seen as a conflict of historical viewpoints. No conflict is shown on the historical sources which is focused on the material documents rather than oral sources. The page also focuses on the history of the majority rather than presenting the history of different minority groups. It is also shown that Riksarkivet builds its legitimacy by using legal and historical connections to the state of Sweden, from the old monarchy to today’s democracy. Legitimacy is also built by highlighting the institutions access to primary sources as well as their high amount of knowledge. The connection to medieval times, focus on war as something distant, the monarchy, and the principle of public access to public records are some of the factors building a more unique Swedish archival identity.