Thanks to Lily for sending this to me!
The JCAS is pleased to announce the first article published in 2016: “Developing a Typology of Human Rights Records,” by Noah Geraci and Michelle Caswell, both of UCLA.
This article seeks to answer the following questions: What makes a record a “human rights record”? What types of records fall under this umbrella term? How and why might we develop a typology of such records? What is at stake—ethically, theoretically, and practically—in the ways in which and the reasons why we define and classify records as such? The piece includes a literature review exploring the history of conceptions of human rights records in archival studies, and the ongoing discussion in information studies more broadly about the politics of the organization of information. The paper outlines the chosen methodology of conceptual analysis and describe the ways such methodology will be employed to de/construct the term “human rights record,” and provides a typology of human rights records, positing that such records can be examined according to five interlocking vectors: who created them, why, and when, where they are currently stewarded, and how they are being put to use. The article also examines the ethical, political, and professional implications of the proposed typology and suggests ways in which this rubric can be used in the future.
Download a copy of this open access article at the JCAS site.
The JCAS is a peer-reviewed, online, open access journal sponsored by the Yale University Library and New England Archivists (NEA). Follow the JCAS on Twitter and Facebook!
Best,
Lily Troia, JCAS Social Media Consultant
Publishing in the Archives Profession 