Archives house the history that people access to find out about their past. It is in archives that they can discover their personal genealogy or the root causes of political or economic crises; it is there, they can recover the institutional or cultural memory of people, communities or nations. How archivists collect, organize, and preserve this diversity of histories will be the focus of this course. Through lectures, readings and discussions, students will be introduced to the practices of archival sciences and management and will be provided with the necessary preparation for participating in HIS 391, as an archives intern.
Course description and Learning objectives
This course explores the key foundations and concepts of archival practice and theory with a focus on Canadian best practices but includes international perspectives when possible. It will also touch on methods of archival research and reflect on the nature of the archival record. The course will consist of lectures, discussion, and regular hands-on practice with archival records from local archives repositories. Guest speakers may be included (the evening time slot of this course makes it a bit challenging).
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
-Explain the difference between libraries, museums, and archives.
-Understand the foundational archival concepts of provenance, respect des fonds, and original order and how these concepts inform the activities of archivists.
-Understand the basics of the principle archival functions of appraisal, preservation, arrangement and description, and access and outreach.
-Use archival databases and finding aids to identify relevant primary sources.
-Describe ethical issues involved in providing access to archives.
-Discuss the relationship between archival management and records management.
Course description and Learning objectives
This course explores the key foundations and concepts of archival practice and theory with a focus on Canadian best practices but includes international perspectives when possible. It will also touch on methods of archival research and reflect on the nature of the archival record. The course will consist of lectures, discussion, and regular hands-on practice with archival records from local archives repositories. Guest speakers may be included (the evening time slot of this course makes it a bit challenging).
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
-Explain the difference between libraries, museums, and archives.
-Understand the foundational archival concepts of provenance, respect des fonds, and original order and how these concepts inform the activities of archivists.
-Understand the basics of the principle archival functions of appraisal, preservation, arrangement and description, and access and outreach.
-Use archival databases and finding aids to identify relevant primary sources.
-Describe ethical issues involved in providing access to archives.
-Discuss the relationship between archival management and records management.
- Teacher: Jody Robinson