Prospectus

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Do Archivists make History? The Role of Appraisal and Selection of Archives on Historical Research

Course
2009-2010

Appraisal and selection of archives may be regarded as the most responsible task of archivists. After all selection determines what kind of archival material will be available for future historical research. As in the rest of the world, in the last quarter of the 20th century archivists and records managers in the Netherlands were faced with an overwhelming flood of information. The traditional, craftsman like manner of appraisal and selection of individual documents became a hopeless enterprise as hundreds of kilometres of unprocessed archive material began to pile up within government agencies. The quantities involved demanded a thorough review of the methods for appraisal and selection. In the traditional way, selection was geared towards documents appraised in their documentary context. The documents’ contents were appraised according to their value as evidence or as research sources. In the new methods of macro-appraisal that were developed, appraisal was geared towards the activities of government that brought about the creation of the documents within their institutional context. Appraisal no longer dealt primarily with documents and their content, but with activities and institutional context.
In the last few years some doubts have arisen about the identification of records (the documents) by this new method in which functions are appraised instead of documents. Some historians and archivists question whether the correct documents are selected by this method macro-appraisal. In this research seminar we will analyse the Dutch method of macro-appraisal, reconstruct the practice of identification of the records based on functions and analyse and evaluate the results of this method of appraisal and selection by comparing the archival descriptions with the real content of archival documents.

Language of instruction

English and Dutch requested for literature and archival research (all archival sources will be in Dutch).

Admission requirements

Reading of 19th and 20th century Dutch handwriting is required. Most lecturers will be given in the National Archives in The Hague.

Time Table

Semester I, see timetables.

Method of Instruction

Lecture, study of academic literature, analysis of archival finding aids and archival documents.

Attendance is compulsory (see the rules and regulations of the Department of History, art. 2).

Course objectives

The first aim of this research seminar is to gain insight into the role and importance of appraisal and selection of archives for historical research. The second aim is to discover the accuracy /inaccuracy or in other words the reliability of the archival descriptions based on methods of macro-appraisal compared to the real content of the archives. The third aim is to get accustomed to an institutional and process-based approach of archives.

Required reading

  • Agnes Jonker, ‘Macroappraisal in the Netherlands. The first ten years, 1991-2001, and beyond’ in Archival Science 5 (2005) 203-218

  • Brian Beaven, ‘‘But am I getting my records?’ Squaring the circle with terms and conditions expressed in relation to function and activity’ Archival Science 5 (2005) 315-341

  • Catherine Bailey, ‘Turning macro-appraisal decisions into archival holdings: crafting function-based terms and conditions for the transfer of archival records’ in Archivaria 61 (2006) 147-179

  • Robbert Jan Hageman, Charles Jeurgens and Ruud Yap,
    ‘Past Appraised. Building Blocks for a New Appraisal Method for Archives’

Examination

Paper and presentation.

Information

With the tutor: Prof.dr. K.J.P.F.M. Jeurgens

Remarks

Maximum number of students: 6