Archives and Records: The Journal of the Archives and Records Association Call for papers
from the website: http://explore.tandfonline.com/cfp/pgas/archives-and-public-history
Archives and Public History: Places, Pasts and Identities
Archives are made visible through a broad range of public history activity, from Hollywood blockbusters and television documentaries, to national commemorative events and local community projects. In common with other cultural heritage assets, they are recognised as a tool that enables people to engage with the past in all sorts of ways.
Nevertheless, questions remain about this intersection of archival heritage, public history and the past. For example:
- How do archives create and inform knowledge about the past, and what role do they play in the production of histories?
- How is digital technology changing the way that history-makers and public audiences encounter, understand and use archives?
- What is the impact of the ‘democratisation’ of history and heritage on how people relate to archival materials?
- What are the ethical implications of deploying archival heritage to tell stories about diverse places and identities?
This special issue of Archives and Records seeks to explore approaches to the public use of archives, emanating from all fields of study. We recognise that ground-breaking work on the nature and value of archival heritage is happening across the disciplines, in history, literature, art, sociology, geography, heritage and information studies and beyond. Many of these voices rarely enter the archives sector literature. This issue aims to provide a space for encounters between researcher and practitioner discourses, and to encourage the cross-pollination of ideas.
We invite papers on any aspect of the public use of archives. Contributions might consider, but need not be confined to, the following themes:
- Popular conceptions and representations of archival heritage
- The value of the archive to historians and other ‘history-makers’ (including historical fiction authors, TV producers, artists, community groups)
- Social, historical, political and economic uses of archives by governments, local authorities, universities, community groups and individuals
- The role of archives in commemorative activity and anniversary events
- Discourses of memory, remembering/forgetting and archival heritage
- Intersections with other forms of cultural heritage, e.g. material culture, built environment, intangible heritage
How to submit
Prospective authors are invited to contact the Guest Editor, Victoria Hoyle to discuss potential articles. The deadline for submissions is 31st July 2016. All submissions will be double blind peer-reviewed and should be presented in line with Archives and Records style guidelines.
Publishing in the Archives Profession 