A mámoron és az igézeten túl

As an introduction to a special, thematic issue, the author reviews four possible analytic approach to information history centered view of lists. The microhistory explanation (1), a tipology-driven, time-sensitive contextualization (through melting the given type of list with similar ones, extending the scope to other information managing objects, actors and institutions of a given age (2), the macrohistory framing, when we try to insert the list into different sets of trendlines and trajectories (3), and a group of content-oriented, functional, structural points of views, reviving the epistemological nature of list-making, regarding to different societies, cultures and situations (4). After speculating on the validity and possible significance of a substantive and dedicated ‘science of lists’, the author summarizes the aspects, which can be devoted to specially information history-related dissections.