O anatomii radości – w archiwum
The Anatomy of Joy – in the Archive

Summary/Abstract: Joy as a destabilizing, unpredictable, and ephemeral emotion, laden with ethical dimensions, can also manifest itself as a consequence of intellectual engagement (Misrahi, Lénoir). Pleasure, joy, happiness are recurrent themes in the literature of scholars delving into the intricate realm of “recalcitrant” manuscripts. Drawing upon examples from Agamben, Corti, Farge, Grésillon, and Zweig, this article delineates a phenomenology of joy within archival contexts. From the anticipation of receiving the “living material” of a manuscript to the “slow and unprofitable” process of transcribing the “intimate signs” of writing, and through the act of reading where “passion and reason” intertwine, the experience of joy can astonish those who immerse themselves in the traces of others’ words, within the perpetually unfolding vistas of archival papers, like a universe in miniature.

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