Critical Archival Literacy and Methodology

1 Course Unit

What are archives? Who or what determines the archival value of something? This course begins with examining the nature of records and archives through time, exploring the concepts of traditional custodial, post-custodial, and contemporary alternative custodial models of archiving. We will trace the history of the archival profession and its missions, roles, values, and discuss the challenges facing archives today, including ownership, archival authority, archival silences, access, representation, and ethics. Throughout the semester, we will discuss how archives are created, collected, and evaluated, and the power and role of archives in culture and research. This course is designed to provide students with a solid foundation of theory, methodology, and practice of archival science and literacy. It prepares students to conduct scholarly research and develops critical thinking skills in relation to records in all forms in the context of business or government, public needs, scientific research, or the protection of cultural heritage. 1 Course Unit