| Fact sheet |
|---|
| Faculty: |
Faculty 04 - History and Cultural Studies |
| Department: |
History Institute |
| Title: |
Archives: Gatekeepers of the Past? |
| Code: |
0403 |
| Lecturer: |
Prof. Dr. Bettina Severin-Barboutie, Riley Linebaugh, M.A. |
| Type of course: |
Advanced seminar |
| Description: |
“In all [political] systems—public and private—records are used as instruments of power...paradoxically, the same records can also become instruments of empowerment and liberation, salvation and freedom”, Eric Ketelaar wrote in 2002. It is through this prism that this course examines the power of archives. What is an archive? What purposes do they serve? Who controls them and to what end? By historicizing archives and archival science, this course asks students to examine the power structures and dynamics at work in archives to read them as both source and subject. The course is divided into two parts: Archives of Power and the Power of Archives. The first part looks at how archival practices developed in conjunction with systems of political rule. In doing so, the class emphasizes archives as a technology of governance, paying close attention to how archival access, custody, and use were regulated. The second half of the course looks at how non-state actors produce and use archives in service of activism. Throughout the semester, we will consider the politics of archives from an interdisciplinary perspective. In addition to these theoretical components, the course will offer several practical opportunities. These include a possible archival excursion, a guided exercise in primary source analysis, and a workshop on using and cataloguing archival collections. |
| Date/Time: |
Friday, 10.00am – 12.00am CET |
| Language: |
German & English |
| Target group: |
Students interested in public history and in the preservation of the past |
| Requirements for participation: |
Comfortable reading and writing in English |
| ECTS: |
3 |
