AHS 2018 Annual Meeting

The Archival History Section Steering Committee is excited to announce the schedule for the AHS meeting in DC on Thursday August 16, 4:15 – 5:30 pm. The Archival History Section will include an update on Archival History News, the awarding of the inaugural Archival History Article Award, and a panel and discussion: “Guide to Navigation in Perilous Times: Journeys through Archival History and Historiography” with presentations Drs. Alex H. Poole (Drexel University) and Ciaran B. Trace (The University of Texas at Austin).

Schedule of Events - Thursday August 16, 4:15 – 5:30 pm

4:15 pm   Chair Kelly A. Kolar opens meeting, introduction of 2018-19 officers, and other section updates 

4:25 pm   Review of first year of Archival History News with co-editor Eric Stoykovich 

4:35 pm   Kelly A. Kolar presents the inaugural Archival History Article Award to Patricia Kennedy Grimsted for her chapter, "Pan-European Displaced Archives in the Russian Federation: Still Prisoners of War on the 70th Anniversary of V-E Day," from Displaced Archives.

4:45 pm   Panel and Discussion: Moderator, Ashley Stevens introduces panel and panelists, Dr. Alex H. Poole and Dr. Ciaran B. Trace

Guide to Navigation in Perilous Times: Journeys through Archival History and Historiography

In this session, Drs. Alex H. Poole and Ciaran B. Trace draw from their recently published scholarship to introduce and discuss the nature and relevance of archival history and historiography.

Poole’s work concentrates on diversity and inclusivity in the profession. It examines segregation in the Jim Crow era, where African American scholars’ access to archives was proscribed or limited; the life and legacy of Harold T. Pinkett, the first African American professional archivist, who worked at the National Archives from 1942 to 1979; feminism in the archival profession, as shown through the work of the SAA’s Committee on the Status of Women (1972-1998) and the Women’s Caucus (1972-); and the efforts by activist-archivists, especially members of the Lesbian and Gay Archives Roundtable (1989-), to promote gay rights in collecting and professional activities. 

Trace’s work examines the history and rhetoric of reform ushered in during the Progressive Era, where partnerships between private organizations, public institutions, and government bodies sought to bring about economic and social change.  Whether the associated forces of efficiency and economy helped to enable, regulate, or withhold literacy or fundamentally change the function and structure of government operations, the Progressive Era left its mark on the records of this era and on the nascent archival professions’ effort to save them.

Drawing from their experiences in the field, the authors reflect on the broader trajectory of their interest in and publication about archival history, the place of this particular scholarship within the larger archival and information history domain, on the practice of ‘doing’ history, and on the unprecedented relevance of archival history in an age of fake news. 

 Please visit the AHS microsite for a bibliography on further readings related to the panel discussion and archival history and research.

5:30pm    Close of Meeting