Editorial comments

Source selection
The selection is based on the digitization of 221 preserved tape recordings. We listened to all the tapes, some of which turned out to be duplicates. In our selection, we gave priority to Mortensen’s own lectures or speeches to his students. We have sought to cover as many years as possible, although tapes from the early years are sparse, and there is a gap for the years 1970 and 1971. We also sought to reflect the wide range of topics that Mortensen addresses. We left out recordings with very poor audio quality and recordings of guest lectures and of social get-togethers with students, round-table discussions and debates.

Transcripts
All the transcriptions were made by listening to the tapes. The transcripts adhere to the spoken words and have not been adapted to comply with the norms for written language. Passages that are not deemed to be relevant or which have a high level of extraneous noise have been left out of the transcription; in these cases, a short description is included in brackets. The same applies to passages with music. Individual words or passages were difficult to make out because of the recording quality, so occasionally we may have misheard or misunderstood. If in doubt, we recommend that you listen to the recordings.
When Mortensen speaks in French, German or English, the passage is set in quotation marks, followed by a brief explanation in brackets. In some recordings, Mortensen uses terms that would not be acceptable today – for example ’negro’ or ‘redskin’ – but since this is a primary source, we have decided to transcribe it verbatim.