BA Drama

This course unit is designed to open up the archive as both a site of cultural production and site for researching cultural creative and media industries. In partnership with the John Rylands Research Institute, students will learn about the acquisition, appraisal, management and interpretation of archives, and access archival collections from artists, creatives and industry practitioners through the British Pop Archive and other relevant archives. They will critically consider the representation of cultural scenes and communities through archival management, interpretation and digital storytelling, with a focus on Manchester music scenes and histories. Assessment will comprise a group project developing an online exhibition and a critical reflection essay of an archival object. 
 

The unit aims to:

• Explore and develop knowledge of historical and contemporary creative and cultural production practices, issues and debates through the contents of the British Pop Archive and other relevant archives and collections (PA1)
• Provide students with foundational knowledge and skills in the creation and management of archival collections and their use for academic research (PA2)
• Present opportunities for student participation in the creation of exhibition, display and digital story-telling and engage audiences in narratives, histories and roles of creative and cultural practitioners and processes of cultural production and consumption (PA3)

• Introduction: What is an archive and how do we archive culture? introduction to course aims and learning outcomes, schedule and assessment, and mini-lecture on an introduction to archival theory, plus introduction to the British Pop Archive and its contents, from BPA Curator, Matt Bancroft.
• Building and curating the British Pop Archive – (e.g. Matt Bancroft/Jon Savage) workshop on (1) selection and appraisal of materials, (2) donors, donations and difficulties; Group projects inception
• Research in the archive – visit to Archives+ / Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Archive – guest lecture on representation and the archive; workshop on accessing archival materials and searching collections
• Manchester music histories – (e.g. DJ Paulette) lecture and 2-hour workshop on music scenes and communities examining relevant artefacts from BPA 
• Mediating culture: understanding popular culture through screen and print media – guest lecture (e.g. Andy Spinoza) followed by 2-hour workshop examining relevant artefacts from BPA 
• Reading week - Group project present exhibition proposals and essay proposals due
• Exhibiting the archive – lecture on interpretation and curation of archival materials, opportunities for exhibition and display, intellectual property, followed by workshop 
• The Manchester Together Archive – spontaneous memorialisation, collecting and curation – guest lecture (Kostas Arvanitis) followed by 2-hour seminar group project proposals and essay proposals
• Sustainable archives and digital storytelling lecture; Seminar for group project work
• Installation/Group project work
• Exhibition presentations and evaluation

Lectures, seminars and workshops on campus and with object handling/workshop sessions within the John Rylands Research Institute/Library. These will total 3 contact hours per week, with additional seminar and office hours to support one-to-one formative feedback.

Pre-recorded lectures and guest speaker inputs, plus reading and audiovisual materials on BB will support preparation and revision. Students will also be introduced to specific skills, approaches and environments in relation to archival management, curation and exhibition.

Students will also be expected to undertake individual and group project-directed learning. The course unit will benefit from input from the John Rylands Research Institute including the British Pop Music Archive curatorial team, and from collaboration with teaching staff for Library and Archives Studies.

• 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
   

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

• Apply digitisation and interpretation skills to make creative content suitable for an online exhibition of archival objects C2
• Compare and select relevant materials to support exhibition making C2, C4
• Deliver a project using archival resources in response to a brief set as part of the assessment C4
   

• 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).