Archive and Market Dynamics: (History of) Library, (Digital) Humanities, and “Cultural Memory Institutions”

This work introduces the idea of memory practices in consumption processes and in market system dynamics through the role of archives and digital practice of archiving. From a historical institutionalism perspective, listed in digital humanities in terms of media archaeology, the historical evolution of the library allows to introduce the notion of archive as: (i) category of objects, standards, classification systems and cataloguing mechanisms (from Science and Technology Studies); (ii) and cultural artefact (à la Foucault). From mnemonic devices (digital archive) mnemonic practices emerge (digital archiving practices) whose collective memories help “to generate” and “take shape from” markets as mnemonic communities (cultural memory institutions). The work suggests a research agenda on market system dynamics based on different ways of conceiving the mnemonic dimension of social phenomena.