BA Drama

This course unit is designed to open up the archive as both a site of cultural production and site for researching culture and creativity. Students will learn about the acquisition, appraisal, management and interpretation of archives, and critically consider the representation of cultural scenes, communities, and histories through archival management, research, interpretation and exhibition. Assessment will comprise a critical essay and a group project.
 

The unit aims to:

• Explore and develop knowledge of historical and contemporary creative and cultural production practices, issues and debates through the contents of relevant archives and collections.

• Provide students with foundational knowledge and skills in the creation and management of archival collections and their use for academic research.

• Present opportunities for students to demonstrate how to curate archival exhibitions, interpret archival records and objects, and develop engaging, inclusive and representative narratives and histories.

Lectures, seminars and workshops on campus, and visits to relevant archival sites and collections offsite. These will total 3 contact hours per week, with additional office hours to support one-to-one formative feedback. Students will also be expected to undertake individual and group project-directed learning. Reading and other relevant resources and audiovisual material will be made available on Canvas to support student learning, preparation, and revision.

• Demonstrate understanding of the role of archives in arts and humanities research A1
• Demonstrate understanding of the challenges and skills required to curate and manage archival resources A2
• Demonstrate knowledge of creative and cultural practices in a range of cogent contexts through historical research A1
   

• Make engaging and compelling narratives through exhibition B1, B2
• Employ a critical approach to the use, curation, and interpretation of archival records and objects in research B2
• Analyse and synthesis information presented in a range of formats B1
   

• Work effectively as individuals or in teams to respond to a project brief D1
• Liaise professionally with archivists and curatorial practitioners D1, D4
• Solve problems in the context of archival research D4
   

• Solve problems in the context of archival research D4
• Liaise professionally with creative and curatorial practitioners D1, D4
• Work effectively as individuals or in teams to respond to a project brief D1
   

Mark and written feedback following submission given no later than 15 working days after submission
 

Brown, A., O’Connor, J., & Cohen, S. (2000). Local music policies within a global music industry: cultural quarters in Manchester and Sheffield. Geoforum, 31(4), 437–451. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7185(00)00007-5 

Craig, B. (2004). CHAPTER ONE. An overview of appraisal: What is it? Who does it? Why is it done? In Archival Appraisal. De Gruyter, Inc. 

Hall, S., & Jefferson, T. (2006). Resistance through rituals : youth subcultures in post-war Britain (2nd edition.). Routledge.  

Haslam, D. (2000). Manchester, England : the story of the pop cult city. Fourth Estate. 

Hope Olson, “The Power to Name: Representation in Library Catalogs” from Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society (2001) 

Hopkins, Ieaun  2008. “Places From Which to Speak” from Journal of the Society of Archivists.  

Agarwal, Kritika 2016. “Doing Right Online: Archivists Shape an Ethics for the Digital Age” from Perspectives.  

Christen, Kimberly. 2017. “Digital Preservation, Ethical Care, and the Tribal Stewardship Cohort Program”. Available from https://ndsa.org/2017/03/15/digital-preservation-ethical-care-and-the-tribal-stewardship-cohort-program-an-ndsa-interview-with-kimberly-christen.html  

Henry, Annette 2018. “Power, Politics, Possibilities: Thoughts Toward Creating a Black Digital Oral History Archive” from Language and Literacy 

Marisa Duarte and Miranda Belarde-Lewis, “Imagining: Creating Spaces for Indigenous Ontologies” from Cataloging and Classification Quarterly (2015). ○ Erin Baucom, “An Exploration into Archival Descriptions of LGBTQ Materials” from American Archivist (2018). 

McRobbie, A. (2020). Feminism and the politics of resilience : essays on gender, media and the end of welfare. Polity Press. 

Michelle Caswell, Ricardo Punzalan, and T-Kay Sangwand, “Critical Archival Studies: An Introduction” from Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies (2017).