Kirjahaku

Quod non est in actis, non est in mundo. (What is not on file is not in the world.) Once files are reduced to the status of stylized icons on computer screens, the reign of paper files appears to be over. With the epoch of files coming to an end, we are free to examine its fundamental influence on Western institutions. From a media-theoretical point of view, subject, state, and law reveal themselves to be effects of specific record-keeping and filing practices. Files are not simply administrative tools; they mediate and process legal systems. The genealogy of the law described in Vismann's Files ranges from the work of the Roman magistrates to the concern over one's own file, as expressed in the context of the files kept by the East German State Security. The book concludes with a look at the computer architecture in which all the stacks, files, and registers that had already created order in medieval and early modern administrations make their reappearance.

Quod non est in actis, non est in mundo. (What is not on file is not in the world.) Once files are reduced to the status of stylized icons on computer screens, the reign of paper files appears to be over. With the epoch of files coming to an end, we are free to examine its fundamental influence on Western institutions. From a media-theoretical point of view, subject, state, and law reveal themselves to be effects of specific record-keeping and filing practices. Files are not simply administrative tools; they mediate and process legal systems. The genealogy of the law described in Vismann's Files ranges from the work of the Roman magistrates to the concern over one's own file, as expressed in the context of the files kept by the East German State Security. The book concludes with a look at the computer architecture in which all the stacks, files, and registers that had already created order in medieval and early modern administrations make their reappearance.

Wenn Akten als stilisierte "icons" auf den Monitoren von Computern auftauchen, dann ist es Zeit, die Geschichte ihrer Wirkmächtigkeit in den abendländischen Institutionen des Rechts zu untersuchen. Eine Genealogie der Akten fördert die administrativen Praktiken zu Tage, welche in diesen Institutionen wirkten und immer noch wirken. Unter der Prämisse, dass Akten Medium und Prozessor eines Rechtssystems sind, stellt sich die Geschichte des Rechts anders als gewohnt dar. Sie setzt bei den aktenführenden Magistraten Roms ein und reicht bis zu den Reden über die Macht der Akten im 20. Jahrhundert, zur Sorge um die ?persönlichen Daten? oder die eigene ?Stasi-Akte?. Gerahmt wird diese Archäologie des Rechts am einen Ende von Akten-Vorformen wie den administrativen Listen in Babylon, am anderen Ende von einer aktenförmigen Textverwaltung in Computerprogrammen. Dort zeigt sich, dass Aktentechniken auch eine Vorgeschichte des Computers sind, der mit seinen "stacks", "files" und "registers" diverse Verwaltungspraktiken des Abendlands beerbt hat.

Vad innebär det att rättens historia tycks sammanfalla med mediehistorien? Spelar det någon roll på vilket underlag lagens ord skrivs? Gör det skillnad om lagen skrivs i sten eller programvara, om lagen arkiveras på papper eller pergament? I Cornelia Vismanns stora studie om rättens mediehistoria är det de materiella underlagen och de tekniska operationerna som undersöks. Med utgångspunkt i Kafkas ångestridna meditationer över Lagen och Melvilles beskrivningar av det olyckliga advokatbiträdet Bartleby, utvecklar Vismann ett resonemang där lagen inte bara får sin mediehistoria skriven, utan där mediehistorien samtidigt visar sig vara beroende av rättsliga innovationer.Cornelia Vismann var verksam som advokat i Östberlin fram tills murens fall och kom som forskare att samarbeta nära med medie­teoretikern Friedrich Kittler. Lagen och arkivet är en översättning av hennes doktorsavhandling från 2001. När hon avled i förtid 2010 hade den redan uppnått klassikerstatus inom tysk humaniora.

The essays collected in Law and Media present German media theorist Cornelia Vismann investigating how law functions through the media technologies used to produce, disseminate, and preserve it—from papyrus and the codex to courtroom stenography and Stasi files. Expanding on the understanding of the cultural techniques of law advanced in her landmark first book, Files, Vismann explores topics including the history of Roman law, the development of law books and archives, the transcription and translation of laws and legal proceedings, and the techniques and technologies of bureaucratic administration Translated here for the first time into English and featuring an introduction situating Vismann's thought in terms of her scholarly interlocutors, this book brings Vismann's creative theoretical work, in the form of lively and accessible essays, to readers in cultural studies, media studies, political philosophy, and legal history. For first-time readers of Vismann, these essays will provide a valuable introduction to her key concepts and ideas, while those familiar with the pioneering media theorist will find additional insight into the theories and scholarship that shaped her unique approach.

The essays collected in Law and Media present German media theorist Cornelia Vismann investigating how law functions through the media technologies used to produce, disseminate, and preserve it—from papyrus and the codex to courtroom stenography and Stasi files. Expanding on the understanding of the cultural techniques of law advanced in her landmark first book, Files, Vismann explores topics including the history of Roman law, the development of law books and archives, the transcription and translation of laws and legal proceedings, and the techniques and technologies of bureaucratic administration Translated here for the first time into English and featuring an introduction situating Vismann's thought in terms of her scholarly interlocutors, this book brings Vismann's creative theoretical work, in the form of lively and accessible essays, to readers in cultural studies, media studies, political philosophy, and legal history. For first-time readers of Vismann, these essays will provide a valuable introduction to her key concepts and ideas, while those familiar with the pioneering media theorist will find additional insight into the theories and scholarship that shaped her unique approach.