Where is the letter?

We live in a time marked by technological changes and blending of new and old media. A consequence of the turn from an analogue culture to a digital age is the transformation of the letter and its functions.

For centuries the letter has been a written dossier dispatched from a sender and transported to a receiver by a postal service. Today it is substituted by email and SMS, and maybe even by communication channels without defined receivers, such as social media and the blog.

“The new letter” is transmitted through the World Wide Web with its specific structure and materiality.

For sure, the letter has always been in a process of transformation. It has changed both physically and as a part of a communication system. Its status as a source has been recognized, and its different functions have been described in literature since antiquity.

However, what are the implications when the letter is transferred from one medium to another?

What kinds of challenges do the transformation of the letter present to us as researchers and scholars in the archives, the humanities and the social sciences? On this background The National Library of Norway poses the question: Where is the Letter?

We invite scholars and researchers to shed light upon this crucial topic.

The conference is open for everyone and there is no conference fee.

Registration before February 10th to: letter@nb.no