HTY 599 (0001): Special Topics in History: Archives and Power
Instructor: Professor Mary Freeman
Days/Time: Wed, 4:00-5:50pm
Course Number: 42959 or 42960
Location: Stevens Hall 310 or WEB-Online
Description: Historians rely on archival research to craft narratives about people, places, and events in the past. This seminar will provide an introduction to archival research at the graduate level while also exploring the concept of the archive from theoretical and methodological perspectives. We will engage scholarship of “the archival turn,” an approach that centers the conditions of power and contingency that shape the preservation of archival material. We will also read examples of historical scholarship that take innovative approaches to archival research and analysis. Finally, we will gain practical experience and develop strategies for working with archival collections.
This seminar should be useful to anyone working towards a research project (e.g. thesis or dissertation) that relies on archival and primary source research; those interested in a career in archival or public history institutions; or those curious about how power and politics shape understandings of history.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in History or History major with Senior Standing; others by permission.