HiltonA_LIS2222Assignment2

7/31/2019 HiltonA_LIS2222Assignment2

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An examination of past and presenttheories and initiatives, and a call for

concern over the future.

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Archival Appraisal and PreservingMemory


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"If an item does not appear in our records, it does not

exist.Jocasta Nu Star Wars E isode II: Attack of the Clones


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MnemoysneThe Greek Goddess of Memory

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The Memory Metaphor

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Why do we have archives?

Metaphor of archives and collective memorygoing hand in hand

Material objects and documents linked tointeraction and communication between humans

Tangible objects are valued higher than oralhistories


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Two Modes of Memory

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Primary or FunctionalMode

Secondary or Storage

Mode Information we keep to

reflect upon or useagain in the future.

Archiving is not about

history lookingbackward, but about

storing and securing forthe future.

Eric Ketelaar


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Collective Memory

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Emile Durkheim,The ElementaryForms of theReligious Life(1912).

Coined thephrase collective

consciousness


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Ministry of Truth

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George Orwell, 1984

Employees rewritehistory and falsifyrecords

Doublethink

"And if all othersaccepted the lie whichthe Party imposed-if allrecords told the same

tale-then the lie passedinto history and becametruth. 'Who controls thepast' ran the Partyslogan, 'controls thefuture: who controls the


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Collective Memory

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In the 1970s, historianHoward Zinn publiclyspoke out about hisdiscontent with

archives

Believed there was anincompleterepresentation of

minority social groups


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History is written by the victors

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Since Roman andmedieval times, leadershave asserted theirauthority throughdocumentation

Only the upper classeswere educated, they were

the ones being recorded In choosing to preserve

one memory, others arenot


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Documentation Gap

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Underdogs are stillnot having their voicesheard

Women, ethnic

minorities, the poor,LGBT community,political extremists

Some groups have

begun to create ownhistorical record

Archival activism-IanJohnston


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Orwell on the Documentation

Gap

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"It will never bepossible to get acompletely accurateand unbiased account

of the Barcelonafighting, because thenecessary records donot exist. Future

historians will havenothing to go uponexcept a mass ofaccusations and party

propaganda.A

"When I think ofantiquity, the detailthat frightens me isthat those hundreds

of millions of slaveson whose backscivilization restedgeneration after

generation have leftbehind them norecord whatever.

Homage to Catalonia


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Take the trouble to compile awhole new world of documentarymaterial, about the lives, desires,

needs, of ordinary people." Thiswould help ensure "that the

condition, the grievances, the will of

the underclasses become a force inthe nation.

Howard Zinn, Secrecy, Archives,


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Houses of Memory

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Jean-Pierre Wallot,former NationalArchivist of Canada,President of the Royal

Society of Canada Coined the term

houses of memory in

1991 Presidential

address

Archivists role to be

the keys to collective

memory


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As for archivists, they carry a

heavy burden. They hold the keysto the collective memory. In this

world of superficiality and instant

everything, they must, more thanever before, develop the treasures

of our houses of memory.Jean-Pierre Wallot, Building a

Living Memory for the History of


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The Archival Temple

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Control of archivists over

social/collective memory Inside the temple there

are records about humancivilization and we choose

which of those we want tokeep

Those that are kept are

given more value Lasting impact on society

We are what we collect,

we collect what we are.

Elizabeth Kaplan


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Appraising Difficult Topics

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Easier to leave tragic events in the past than toremember them

Reasons behind the tragedy and players in it dictate

what is remembered

Documentation destruction and revision to destroymemories

Effacement of documentation occurs through avariety of mediums, especially architectural

Features recalled with pride are apt to be

safeguarded against erosion and vandalism; thosethat reflect shame may be ignored or expunged fromthe landscape.-David Lowenthal, Past Time,Present Place: Landscape and Memory, 1975.


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Salem Witch Trials

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Nazi Germany

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Boston Massacre

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John Wayne Gacy

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Virginia Tech Massacre Archive

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Had over 87,000items

Many items were notgood candidates for

preservation Library of Congress

consultants assistedin choosing only 5%of total items for thearchive

Focus on appraisingobjects that exhibitedthe act of mourning

and bringing people


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A gift of 33,000 paper cranes were mailed to VTdays after the shooting.


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24 Banners waiting to be accessioned into the archive.


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A banner of support sent from James MadisonUniversitys Student Korean Association in

Harrisonburg, Virginia.


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Virginia Tech Massacre

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Napkin with pen drawings and prose, In memory of


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United States Holocaust Museum

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Goal is to locateHolocaust-relatedunpublished archivalcollections

World-wide effort

Believed that only 20%of Holocaustdocumentation hasbeen discovered

Museums Archives hasalmost 42 million pagesof documentation so far

Items consideredendangered because ofthe subject matter

International Archival Programs

Division


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United States Holocaust Museum

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International Archival Programs

Division

Many times documents are in a horrible condition whenrecovered because of their age and improper storage


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Selection Criteria

1.Time2.Place

3.People

4.Subject and theme5.Form and style


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Conclusion

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Identifying the value of a record based uponcultural memory is an important part of appraisal

Opportunities to improve in digital age?

Those who tell the stories rule society.-Plato

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