SYLLABUS

Archiving as Social Justice Practice

HUM C132/ ENV DES C132

Summer 2023, Summer Bridge program, sponsored by U.C. Berkeley College of Environmental Design

July 5-August 10, 2023

Instructor: Lincoln Cushing

 

Simplified syllabus 7/30/2023

Course description

 

"Looking back, immediately behind us is dead ground. We don't see it, and because we don't see it, there is no period so remote as the recent past.The historian's job is to anticipate what our perspective of that period will be."  - Professor Irwin in 'The History Boys,' 2006.

 

In this project-based, community-engaged course, you will learn what history is made of. You’ll learn about the role of conventional and community-based archives and how such institutions support creative and productive scholarship through the provision of primary sources. Knowledge is a moving target - we are surrounded by news, facts, and opinions that often lack true supporting evidence. This course looks at the role of archives and special collections in helping us, and our communities, to better formulate an honest world view. 

 

Although some archives and special collections are well-known, many more serve marginalized or specialized audiences and require extra effort to reveal them in the landscape of knowledge sources. Through site visits and online research you will examine the pros and cons of different repositories. You’ll learn that there is an enormous amount of material that helps us understand history that has never been put online. You’ll learn how to find, analyze, and organize materials such posters, menus, brochures and other ephemera that can be important sources in the writing of history.

 

You will be not only a user of archives, but a contributor. We’ll challenge the notion that history is neutral and the sole product of established academic scholars. The centerpiece of this course is engagement with a community partner, the Freedom Archives, one of several collections presented in the class which offer unconventional and nontraditional research settings. Working with the Freedom Archives, you’ll learn archival processes and techniques that will serve you well in your undergraduate career and beyond.

Presentation and reading schedule

9-12 Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday; field trip sessions include travel time

Week 1:What are Archives For? Session 1 Wednesday, July 5(Tuesday July 4 is a holiday)

Welcome to class, review of course (instructor)


●      Student self-introductions (class participation)

Instructor assigns pairs students which share brief personal bios, including where they are from, what their educational aspirations are, and a “fun fact.” Then each pair reports back to the class what they learned about each other.

 

●      Overview of archives, libraries, and special collections. Also, archival tools and techniques. (instructor)

 

●      What are primary sources and why do they matter? How do we show evidence to support what we “know”? (instructor)

 

●      Assign fieldwork #1 - Architecture of the archive: buildings and digital structures. Visit a UC Berkeley special collection fromlist provided by instructor and identify an “analog-only” (non- digitized) item that interests you.

Deliverable: Write a 500-word report due July 26, see suggested topics in July 27 session.

 

●      Assign reading #1 - What’s the value of special collections?

Deliverable: Write a 300-word response on the readings; consider the discussion topics described in July 6 session. Due EOD July 6.

o    “Cataloging as political practice” Lincoln Cushing, 2015 [5 pp] https://stansburyforum.com/2015/04/04/cataloging-as-political-practice


o    “Liberating Public Library Content: The poster digitization project at the Oakland Public Library César Chávez Branch” Lincoln Cushing, 9/6/2020, Stansbury Forum  [2pp]
https://stansburyforum.com/2020/09/06/liberating-public-library-content

 

Session 2 Thursday, July 6

●      Discuss reading assignment #1 (class participation) Discussion topics:

●      How does cataloging add to knowledge-building?

●      Why are primary source materials helpful in advancing knowledge?

●      Can you come up with contemporary examples of “fake news” or sloppy research?

 

●      Archival practice and tools, using primary sources to develop critical thinking (instructor)

 

●      Classroom workshop #1: Scanning
Instructor brings in several boxes of social movement flyers. Groups of three students pick a folder that appeals to them and afterdiscussing and reviewing contents select three representative samples to digitize. Instructor guides group in running documents through scanner and drop files to student laptops. Group then divides up scans, each student adds relevant metadata, and groupcollaboratively writes a sample finding aid to folder contents. Class then looks at results and discusses.

 

●      Explain how personal archive assignment (session 5)and group archive project assignment will work(instructor) See description under “Course grading and evaluation”

 

●      Assign preparation for field trip to Freedom Archives – students should look at their website and familiarize themselves with their collection and services

 

“New archive of progressive history moving to North Berkeley”
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/12/28/freedom-archives-north-berkeley

 

https://freedomarchives.org

 

 

Week 2: What does an archive look like?

Session 3 Tuesday, July 11

·       Field trip #1 to Freedom Archives (off campus, Berkeley)

See how an independent community-based institutional special collection is set up and talk with staff.

 

·       Deliverable: Write a 300-word response on the field trip; consider the discussion topics described in July 13 session. Due EOD July 12 (tomorrow).

 

Session 4 Wednesday, July 12

 

●      Guest lecturers #1: Commons Archive, Sue Mark and Dr. Saturu Ned

 

●      Discuss field trip #1 (class participation) Discussion topics:

o   What feature did you find most useful about FA?

o   How does an institution such as FA compare to an institutional archive such as the Bancroft Library?

 

●      Mapping archives in cities. Where are non-academic archives and special collections held in the SF Bay Area? In the US? (class participation)

 

Assign reading #2 - What do we call things?

●       

Deliverable: Write a 400-word response on the readings; consider the discussion topics described in July 14 session. Due EOD July 13.

 

o   “Search Terms Up for Debate: The Politics and Purpose of Library Subject Headings” Gross, Tina. 2022-02-15. Historians.org [3pp] https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on- history/march-2022/searchterms-up-for-debate-the-politics-and-purpose-of-library-subject-headings


o   “Just like Museums, Libraries Aren’t Neutral” by Fuschia Hart, 11/23/2021. Hyperallergic [3pp]
https://hyperallergic.com/694287/just-like-museums-libraries-arent-neutral/

 

o   Berman, Sanford. 2014. Prejudices and antipathies: a tract on the LC subject heads concerning people. Jefferson, N.C.:McFarland and Co. [first published 1971]. [Students should find subject areas of personal interest, suggest reading 10pp]. Recommend purchasing book; online segments here: https://www.sanfordberman.org/prejant/prejant.pdf

●      Assign preparatory requirement for classroom workshop 2 (personal archive)

o   For next class session, cluster into groups of 3 students. Each student will bring four items (book, photo, tool, etc.) for which you will together create original item-level catalog records and a finding aid for the “collection.”

 

Session 5 Thursday July 13

●      Discuss reading #2 (class participation) Discussion topics:

●      How do personal and cultural biases distort institutional descriptions of reality?

●      How can these errors be changed or worked around?

 

●      Classroom workshop #2: Cataloging – a personal archive project

Cataloging is the process of identifying key aspects of items in a collection to better interpret it and assist finding it later.

Students at each table in class will work as a group. Each student will bring four items (book, photo, tool, etc.) for which you will take photos with your phone. One of you will set up an account in CatalogIt for this temporary group, and then upload all images. Next step, as a group, is to create original item-level catalog records. Review your dozen items and select 5 relevant catalog fields (examples: “year made,” “creator,” "person contributing") Populate those fields with data. Lastly, create a separate document (100 word) finding aid for your table describing the group “collection.”
[Digital tool used: CatalogIt (Links to an external site.) online free personal version, requires registration.]


Discussion questions for class:

o   How do the items selected relate to each other?

o   Why were those catalog fields chosen?

o   What challenges arose?

 

Week 3: How are archives built?

Session 6 Tuesday, July 18

●      Field trip #2 to instructor’s Docs Populi archive [off campus, Berkeley]

See how an independent community-based special collection is set up, observe the advantages and disadvantages of non-institutional archives.

Deliverable: Students will write a 400-word response. Consider the discussion topics described in the July 20 session. Due EOD July 19.

 

Session 7 Wednesday, July 19

●      Discuss impressions of field trip #2 (class participation) Discussion questions:

o   How would you describe this special collection compared to others? Consider size, scope, quality of holdings, range of content, and accessibility.

 

●      Classroom workshop #3: Audiofiles

Groups of two students will step outside class and use their phones (“Voice memos” on iPhone or equivalent) to record a very brief (one-minute statement). The interviewer will start with:
“This is (your name) July 19, 2023 at UC Berkeley. Please tell me your name, where you are from, and how you think archives and primary sources will be useful in your career or community”
Send the file from your phone to your laptop, title it with interviewee’s name and date (“Kaden_Pedro_2023-07-19.m4a”) and upload file via bCourses to today’s Assignments.

The instructor will run the files through an online transcription service (https://www.temi.com) and students will review the other’s text and correct/confirm it. The whole class will then discuss the process.

●      Check-in on group archive assignment. Progress on cataloging/describing. What catalog/metadata will be added? (class participation)

 

Session 8 Thursday, July 20

●      Field trip #3 to the Bancroft Library (UC Berkeley)

Deliverable: Students will write a 400-word response. Consider the discussion topics described in the July 27 session. Due EOD July 26.

 

The Bancroft Library is one of the best special collections in the country, yet is sometimes perceived as elite and inaccessible. Thisvisit will offer an overview of the range of materials available and how to make the best use of this resource.

 

Week 4: What kinds of archives are out there?

Session 9 Tuesday, July 25

●      Guest lecturer #2– Lisbet Tellefsen, independent community archivist (in class)

You don’t have to be an academic to contribute to building historical knowledge. Ms. Tellefsen has followed her passion for social justice and over the years built several major collections.

Student feedback: instructor will meet briefly with each student outside of class for 1:1 check-in

 

Assign reading #3 - Decolonizing special collections

Deliverable: Students will write a 400-word response. Consider the discussion topics described in the July 27 session. Due EOD July 26.

 

o   Nestle, Joan, 1979. “Notes on Radical Archiving from a Lesbian Feminist Perspective,” Gay Insurgent 4/5 (Spring 1979), 11. 4. [1pp]

https://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/an-early-conversation-about-ga/voice-2-joan-nestle

 

o     Young, Jeffrey R. 2012. “For Archivists, ‘Occupy’ Movement Presents New Challenges.” Chronicle of Higher Education. [2pp] https://www.docspopuli.org/pdfs/OccupyArchives.pdf


o   “Archival-Futurism: Archives as Social Justice,” by Miranda Mims, InVisible Culture, 11/15/2020 [4pp]

https://ivc.lib.rochester.edu/archival-futurism/

“By breaking away from thinking that the “archive” has to be in a traditional repository, we can truly expand our work beyond our walls.”

 

o   “Historic Chicano student newspaper made available online: Nuestra Cosa digitized as a record of UCR history,” by Imran Ghori, 12/13/2022 [2pp]

https://insideucr.ucr.edu/stories/2022/12/13/historic-chicano-student-newspaper-made-available-online

“Enriquez began searching for materials about historically excluded groups, including the Chicano community, in special collections and came across old issues of the newspaper. Although they can be requested and viewed by visitors, Enriquez thought they should be more easily and widely accessible, especially to the Chicano community.”

 

Session 10 Wednesday, July 26

●      Discuss fieldwork assignment #1 (class participation)

o   Which special collection did you visit?

o   How would you evaluate the physical space and location?

o   What analog-only item did you find and why was it important?

 

●      Discuss impressions of field trip #3 (Bancroft Library) Discussion questions:

o   How would you describe this special collection compared to others? Consider size, scope, quality of holdings, range of content, and accessibility.

 

●      Discuss reading #3 (class participation) Discussion topics:

●      What are the political and personal challenges of capturing controversial community history for the future?

●      What are some techniques for assuring that archival materials will not be disrespectfully interpreted or used?

 

●      Discuss learnings from guest lecturers #1 (class participation) Discussion topics:

o   What roles do collecting/curating/cataloging play in building knowledge?

 

Session 11 Thursday, July 27
●      Classroom workshop #3

Catalog records can contain errors and omissions. Students will look through the All Of Us Or None online poster archive hosted by the Oakland Museum of California, http://collections.museumca.org/?q=category/2011-schema/history/political-posters

to find and select 5 items that have missing dates (example: “Late 20th - Early 21st Century”), and identify an actual orapproximate year of publication using online research tools such as a newspaper archive and reverse calendar. Document your work. Corrected dates will be submitted for entry in the OMCA catalog.

 

Discussion topics:

o   What examples did you find?

o   How did you determine a precise or approximate date?

 

Week 5: How do you create an online archive?

Session 12 Tuesday, August 1

Field trip 4 – Ethnic Studies Library

 

Session 13 Wednesday, August 2

●      Discuss learnings from guest lecturer (class participation) Discussion topics:

o   How does a special collection such as ESL fit into the constellation of UC libraries? Of other “ethnic” libraries?

 

·       Classroom workshop #4 – group archive finding aid part 1

Students will review collection of Grassroots newspaper to be donated to Freedom Archives and list five key headlines for online finding aid; also, each student will identify one article to be further described and added to online links.

 

Teacher brings in a partial print run of Berkeley’s newspaper Grassroots (1972-1984)
Each student gets a sequential stack
Going through carefully, each student reads the paper and lists 5 significant headlines

 

Format:
Volume X

No. X, YYYY-MM (or, if more than one in a month, YY-MM-DD using first day)

Headline Number One

Headline Number two

(No need to put title in quotes)

 

Example:

Vol. 1 No. 1
1972-08

Recycling Center Funded at Last!
Dellums Wins, Faces Next Test in November
First Amendment Row at BHS
Berkeley’s Child Care Nightmare

 

Also, pick out one article that seems particularly significant and has a good graphic (photo or illustration), and write a 150-200 word description for the FA finding aid.

 

Submit by end of work session.

 

Assign reading #4 - Challenges in collecting

Deliverable: Students will write a 400-word response. Consider the discussion topics described in the August 8 session. Due EOD August7.

 

o   Springer, Kimberly. 2015. “Radical Archives and the New Cycles of Contention.” Viewpoint Magazine, Issue #5. [4pp] https://viewpointmag.com/2015/10/31/radical-archives-and-the-new-cycles-of-contention/


o   Lee, Yoonhee. 2019. “Towards Universal Access to Knowledge: The Invisible Labor of Digitizing,” Progressive Librarian issue #47. [9pp] http://www.progressivelibrariansguild.org/PL/PL47/118lee.pdf

 

 

Session 14 Thursday, August 3

·       Classroom review of  workshop #4 (group archive finding aids #1)

In table groupings, students will share their draft 150-200 word Grassroots article finding aid samples and discuss. Are key items there? Does it give a good sense of what a researcher may or may not find?

 

·       Assign Classroom workshop #5 – group archive finding aids part 2 (overall finding aid)


Week 6: We finish and reflect on our home-grown archive

Session 15 Tuesday, August 8

●      Discuss reading #4 (class participation) Discussion questions:

o   How does evolving technology help, or hurt, archival efforts?

o   What are the advantages and disadvantages of privately-held or small-scale community archives?

 

·       Classroom workshop #5 – group archive finding aid part 2

This task summarizes the Grassroots newspaper collection being donated to Freedom Archives in the form of a comprehensive finding aid. As a class, we will first review examples:

 

Freedom Archives

Central and South America collections

https://search.freedomarchives.org/search.php?view_collection=250

 

Bancroft pictorial collection 1999.039

http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt1489q85p/

 

Ethnic Studies Library, UCB

Collection: The Causa Justa / Just Cause Organizational Records, 1996 - 2017

http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8862pht/

 

Each table is a workgroup with one person connected to the large monitor. 

Then each group will compose a 500-word finding aid describing the whole available Grassroots collection. Submit to instructor by EOD.

 

Things to consider:

·       Does it include key information, such as date range, source, and scope of content?

·       Is my writing clear and concise?

·       Does my item description align with any obvious formats used by FA?

·       Has this finding aid added value to the item being described?

 

Session 16 Wednesday, August 9

●      Review of group archive project presented on class web page (class participation) Discussion questions:

o   Does the web page accurately show the relationship between C-132 students and community partner archive?

o   Does the site encourage viewers to want to learn more about the materials shared and additional content at FA?

●      Deliverable: final written reflection on what you have learned in this class (700 words, due by EOD 8/10 - tomorrow). What parts of the course were helpful to you? Which ones were confusing or irrelevant? Do you feel that this better prepares you for a successful path through college?

 

Session 17 Thursday August 10

●      Review of how class went, suggestions for improvement, celebrate our mutual experience.