HIST7305 · History

Graduate Colloquium: Archives and Sources

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

Archives and sources are the foundation of historical work, and yet too easily we take for granted the means by which sources are delivered into the present and the ways in which archives shape our historical interpretations. This course will focus on both the theoretical and the practical dimensions of these two processes. What political, sociological, and cultural factors influence the way our sources material, oral, textual becomesources? How does a pre-existing conception of an archive, as well as the organization and accessibility of it, influence the way we write history drawn from it? How does the researchers background, orientation, identity, and politics influence how they conceive the archive? This course also places an emphasis on writing, since we will be encountering a range of methodological and stylistic approaches. In turn, the writing assignments will ask students to practice writing in different modes, with a particular emphasis on writing for non-academic audiences.