On July 10, 2025, during the Seventh Swiss History Days in Lucerne, the panel “(In)visible State Knowledge. Practices of Secrecy in the Swiss and South German Context (17th/18th Century)” took place as part of the broader conference theme “(Un)sichtbarkeit / In(visibilité)”. On this occasion, Jan Haugner was interviewed about his dissertation.
A central theme of the conversation is the notion of accessibility. Rather than framing the issue in terms of “visibility” or “invisibility”, Jan Haugner emphasizes how archival knowledge in the early modern period depended on tools such as registers, inventories, and experience. Seeing a mass of documents, he notes, was not the same as being able to use them. Archives with hundreds of thousands of items required strategies to make knowledge accessible, both physically and intellectually. His research illustrates this through case studies from Zurich, Lucerne, Obwalden, and Appenzell Ausserrhoden.
The interview also highlights the political function of archives. Far from being neutral repositories, they provided precedent, orientation, and continuity—serving as instruments of republican legitimacy. By consulting archival records, ruling authorities could align themselves with traditions, justify decisions, and navigate crises.
The full interview is available at https://vimeo.com/1102458135?fl=pl&fe=ti
More interviews during the history days at https://www.infoclio.ch/de/geschichtstage2025
In addition, the panel report on “(In)visible State Knowledge. Practices of Secrecy in the Swiss and South German Context (17th/18th Century)” written by Amélie Jaggi was published. The report can be found at: Panelbericht (In)visible State Knowledge