This intensive course will introduce students to critical issues in archival practice in a rapidly changing terrain. They will experience archival culture firsthand: how and why archivists work and think across a broad range of institutions and they will engage directly with a diverse types of archival material including institutional records, personal papers, material culture, as well as sound and audio-visual archives. The course focuses on examining the intellectual processes rather than the mechanistic practices of archiving. Students will consider specific theoretical and practical issues raised by particular forms of archive such as the politics of selection, the impact of digital technology, conceptual frameworks such as DIY archiving and so-called ‘radical archives’ as well as different approaches to curating and exhibiting archives. Taking advantage of the university’s place in the national capital, this course will include field trips to many major cultural institutions which could include the ANU Noel Butlin Archives, the National Library of Australia, the National Archives of Australia, the War Memorial and the National Film and Sound Archive. This course is of interest to students of museum and heritage studies, history, anthropology, art history, music and digital humanities.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of contemporary archival practices and processes across a range of institutional frameworks and material types.
2. Develop a proficiency in archival literacy across a range of platforms.
3. Undertake independent archival research in the design and execution of an original research project.
4. Demonstrate the ability to develop a sustained argument synthesising theoretical concepts and 'archival work' based on a specialized archive/s.
Indicative Assessment
Reflective journal responding to the field trips to cultural institutions in conjunction with related issues raised in the workshops, 2000 words (25%) Learning Outcomes 1,2,4Seminar presentation held at the end of the semester presenting the findings of the major research project, 15 minutes (25%) Learning Outcomes1-4
Major research project developed from a direct and critical engagement with an archive/s, 4000 words or equivalent (50%) Learning Outcomes1-4
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
This will be an intensive course held over 5 consecutive days each divided into a 3-hour field trip to various cultural institutions and a 3-hour workshop on campus. At a later stage there will be a one-day session for student presentations of the major research assessment (36 hours). Students are expected to commit a further 94 hours of independent study over the semester (total 130 hours).Preliminary Reading
Archive Journal 2011-2015 http://www.archivejournal.net/
Burton, Antoinette (ed.) 2005 Archive stories: facts, fictions, and the writing of history. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.
Hamilton, Carolyn (ed.) 2002 Refiguring the Archive. Dordrecht; Boston, Kluwer Academic.
Kaplan, Alice Yaeger. 1990 ‘Working in the Archives’, Yale French Studies (Special Issue Reading the Archive: On Texts and Institutions).
Manoff, Marlene. 2004 ‘Theories of the Archive from Across the Disciplines’, Libraries and the Academy 4:1, 9–25
Osborne, Tom. 1999 ‘The Ordinariness of the Archive’, History of the Human Sciences 12:2, 51–64.
Ramsey, Alexis E. Wendy B. Sharer, Barbara L’Eplattenier, and Lisa S. Mastrangelo (eds) 2010 Working in the Archives: Practical Research Methods for Rhetoric and Composition. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP.
Simon, Cheryl. 2002 'Introduction: Following the Archival Turn', Visual Resources, 18:2, 101-107.
Steedman, Carolyn 2001 Dust. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Steedman, Carolyn. 2005 ‘Archival Methods’, in Research Methods for English Studies, ed. Gabriele Griffin Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 17–29.
Steedman, Carolyn. 2011 ‘After the Archive’, Comparative Critical Studies 8.2-3, 321-40.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $3180 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $4860 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6817 | 01 Jul 2018 | 20 Jul 2018 | 20 Jul 2018 | 30 Sep 2018 | In Person | N/A |
