In the October 16th Wired Campus blog, a section of The Chronicle of Higher Education, Jennifer Howard asserts the idea of “Special Collections as Laboratories.” This short, but interesting post reaffirms some of the things I mentioned in “What Can the Feminist Theory Papers Do For You?” Within this article, Howard introduces some of the many reasons why working with manuscripts and archives can improve the educational outcomes of students. She also highlights some nifty archives collaboration programs happening around the country.
One other project worth mentioning here is the “Mapping the Stacks” project, created by Professor Jacqueline Goldsby at the University of Chicago. This exciting project brings together faculty, PhD students and archivists to uncover, process, and make accessible the previously hidden collections of African-American primary source material. While the project certainly serves the public, bringing these collections to light, it also enriches the learning experiences of the doctoral students. And, for those archivists out there, enourages doctoral students to engage with archival collections in a way that will hopefully lead them to promote the use of archives with their own students.
Check out these websites and learn about these innovative collaborations that enrich students, enlighten faculty, engage archivists, and promote archives.
