Special Topics in Environmental Policy and Culture (390-0-2)

Topic

Living Archives: Engaging with Historical & Biolog

Instructors

Madeline E. White

Meeting Info

Annenberg Hall G31: Tues 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Living Archives: Engaging with Historical & Biological Collections

Correspondence, records, and printed books are the essential tools of the historian. Collections of plants, known as herbaria, are used by plant scientists to ground research in areas such as taxonomy, phenology, evolutionary biology, and biodiversity conservation. However, as scholars seek to meet growing environmental concerns, the boundaries between these sources have become blurred. Increasingly, scientists have turned to archival materials such as diaries or common-place books to create new understandings of changing environments, while herbaria have been increasingly mined as new sites of cultural data and scientific histories. In Living Archives we will seek to combine these two perspectives, and explore how to make archives accessible beyond the disciplines they were designed for.

We will examine archives, biological and historical, as an object of study, rather than as the mere location of research. We will examine who is included and excluded in the archival system, and what characteristics are required for something to be truly considered an ‘archive', and for whom. Students will also develop skills needed to interpret these varied archives for research in their own discipline, including paleography and plant identification.

This class is designed as a learning practicum - not unlike a lab course. As such, class meetings will take place predominantly in McCormick Special Collections and at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Transportation will be provided where appropriate. Additional trips may also include the Field Museum.

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration is reserved for Environmental Sciences majors, Earth and Planetary Sciences major/minors, Science in Human Culture majors and minors, and Environmental Policy and Culture majors and minors..