I agree with everything Matthew says until the very last sentence. The
courses must stay broad, but allowing various options will not achieve
this. In my job I work as sole archivist and records manager, and my duties
involve everything from cataloguing C12th deeds to running the Records
Centre. I would not be able to do this job if I had to choose from a list
of options on the course. Equally, I think it is dangerous to force people
on the course to decide whether they are going to be a local authority
archivist and choose paleaography etc., or to be a business archivist and
do records management, etc. All are necessary and all need to be taught. I
do not think that the way forward is to chop everything up into optional
modules but needs something more radical, like the use of the summer for
teaching instead of a dissertation or spending a day a week studying during
the pre-course training year.
Mike.
At 16:22 27/11/02 +0000, you wrote:
Rather than saying palæography is pointless these days or the opposite
depending on whether we use it, I think we need to recognise that our
profession is a single one but is very broad indeed. Some people need to
know how to appraise emails or design file covers and others need to know
how to differentiate a last will from a testament or a specialist secretary
from a legal script - all are important.
I'm sure everyone would argue that palæography, diplomatic, latin, history
etc are very important in the make up of an masters course in Archivists
and Records Management such as the one I was enrolled on at UCL. So are
records management, EAD, electronic records, film and sound archives
&c. The courses are full to bursting with subjects that deserve more time
than they can be afforded. Someone has to decide how much time each of
these subjects is given on a very busy course. Palæography on my course
for example took up approx a sixteenth of the time but I've not needed it
once as I am employed as a records manager. Most people who use their
latin &c. on a daily basis are unlikely to need records management.
If the masters courses are to remain single courses, they will only survive
if they are broad. To my mind this will only happen if some courses are
optional, otherwise they will have to split into two or maybe three
separate courses which would be to our profession's detriment.
Regards
Matthew
Matthew Stephenson
Projects and Records Manager
London School of Economics
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
Tel: 020 7955 6481
Fax: 020 7852 3646
Mr. Michael Riordan
Assistant Archivist
St. John's and The Queen's Colleges, Oxford
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