What knowledge of paper archives do historians need to understand digitized or digital archives? This workshop’s central question gained much attention due to the recent opening (or better the not-opening) of the CABR. While archives are being digitized at an ever-increasing pace, historians need to re-evaluate what this does for our historical practice. As historians are increasingly aware, archives are not neutral: they preserve as much as they dispose. These digitization processes magnify the politics of archives. To what degree is it possible to understand digitized archives without the knowledge of paper archives? How should we navigate with digital-born archives?
In this workshop, two archivists, Carolien Boenders (Collectie Overijssel) and Arvid de Raaij (NIOD) will bring case studies from their work to discuss with the participants. Their case studies show how digitization and the process of making these digital sources available are filled with choices. De Raaij brings expertise in digital-born archives and new forms of accessibility, for example, through Natural Language Processing. Boenders has knowledge from ’both sides’ as she entered the archival world after a career in academia; she led the KNHG, was an assistant professor at the University of Utrecht, and gained her PhD in Leiden.
The workshop is held in English unless all participants speak Dutch. Organisers are Rosa de Jong and Lieke Speerstra.
Indicative programme
10:00 Introduction by Lieke Speerstra & Rosa de Jong and discussion literature
11:00 First speaker: Carolien Boenders (Collectie Overijssel) and introduction case studies
12:00 Students work in two groups on case studies
13:00 Lunch and guided tour NIOD
14:00 Second speaker: Arvid de Raaij (NIOD)
15:00: Students work in two groups on case studies
16:00 Drinks
Registration
To register, please send in a short motivational statement (max 1 A4) to huizinga[at]uu.nl before 14 March 2025. Please indicate your current research, why you are interested in this workshop, possible experience working in archives, if you are RMA or PhD, and which research school you are a member of. If more than 15 people apply, a selection will be made based on the motivational statements. Applicants will be informed shortly after the deadline.
Learning aims and outcomes
- Learn to think about how digitization impacts archives, the differences between digitized and analog collections, and how we use them.
- Critically reflect on their own position vis-à-vis digitized archives and how to take this into account in their own historical work.
Assessment and assignments
To receive 1 ECTS, participants read the preparatory literature and hand in a think piece (500 words) on how these texts relate to the participant’s experience with archival work. They are invited to reflect on which archives they used and how sources were selected and made accessible. After the meeting, the students write an analysis of one of the case studies (500 words).
(Preliminary) Literature
- Juergen, Charles, “The Scent of the Digital Archive,” BMGN 128:4 (2013): 30-54.
- Yale, Elizabeth. “The History of Archives: The State of the Discipline,” Book History 18 (2015): 332-359.