ABSTRACT
The concept of citizen humanities is increasingly presented as a solution to diverse challenges in the digital age of archiving. It is a discourse promising collaboration, community, relevance, participation, democracy, citizenship, and other constructive outcomes. The overall consensus frames voluntary participatory practices in cultural heritage citizen projects in a strongly positive manner. But what happens if the participation is remunerated and volunteerism becomes framed in terms of employment? By looking at two innovative archive projects in the 1990s in Ireland and Norway, respectively, this chapter explores some of the historical efforts, practices, and effects of engaging disenfranchised publics in the production of cultural history archives.
