Current Courses Taught
LIS 3100 Academic Culture and Practice (Fall 2010)
This course seeks to immerse students into the history and culture of higher education, the context for the development of library and information science education, and to prepare doctoral students for academic careers. It is intended to deal directly with the problem of inadequate preparation for academic careers, as described by Cole in the quotation above. Even if a doctoral student is not preparing for an academic career, it is often the case that he or she might teach as an adjunct or work with faculty and graduate students in some capacity. This course intends to provide a knowledge of academic culture and practice that will strengthen one’s preparation to work in any aspect of the university at any level. Click here for a copy of the syllabus.
LIS 2223 Archival Access, Advocacy, and Ethics (Spring 2011)
The purposes of this course are to introduce students to the theoretical foundations, principles, and practices of archival access and advocacy, and the ethical issues they generate, so that they are proficient in carrying out these crucial functions in their professional careers. Students will learn about how archival records series and manuscript collections are handled in the reference room setting; increasing use of online systems and the Internet/World Wide Web to provide both access to and advocacy on behalf of archives and historical manuscripts programs; factors supporting the importance of understanding actual and potential use of archival records; how use relates to archival advocacy; issues such as media coverage of archives and historical manuscripts, tensions between privacy and access, national security and the implications for records professionals, and intellectual property and copyright; influence of public policy and applied ethics on archival access and advocacy; and other critical matters affecting the use and image of archives and historical records. Click here for a copy of the syllabus of the Spring 2010 version of this course (the new syllabus will be added when it is completed).
LIS 3100 War, Memory, and Archives (Spring 2011)
War is a strange, compelling, and common human activity. It destroys individuals and community memory, but also compels us to discover new ways of remembering people and preserving societal memory. Our initial sense is to accept that war and its destruction is bad for cultural institutions such as archives, museums, and libraries. After all, these institutions are prominent symbols of particular communities and cultures and are often targeted for destruction by the enemies of these groups. Yet, war also generates the creation of archives, museums, libraries, monuments, and historic sites. In this contradiction may be found the critical elements for understanding why the archival impulse, the effort to save evidence and information documenting the past, is both so important to society and often difficult to understand. This seminar explores the rich scholarly and other literature grapping with the meaning and impact of war and considers what war suggests about archives and society. We consider the meaning of war, the archival mission, war memorials and commemoration as archives, the preservation of personal papers and artifacts and the meaning of the fragility of war documentation, government and the making of official war archives, cemeteries as archives, terrorism and new challenges to remembering war, the future of archives in war and memory, and the sometimes strange relationship between technology, war, and memory. This seminar is part of the new focus on “Working Memory” in the LIS doctoral studies program approved by the faculty last fall. Click here for a working draft of the syllabus.