Hi Mark,

I have to say I agree with you - hence my deliberatly not referring to
either Paleography or Diplomatic in my original message for exactly the
same reasons you suggest.  I recall a fascinating article some years
back by Luciana Duranti (I think) entitled 'Diplomatics: New Wine for
Old Bottles' (or something similar) which looked at how critical the
archivial skill of diplomatics was for the (then newly emerging) field
of digital preservation.  Its relevance and that of paleaography at a
theoretical level was, and is, undeniable.

Unfortunately when I undertook the course some five years ago no
reference was made of these links.  Both subjects were taught as though
they only applied to manuscript sources and along very traditional
lines.  Likewise a significant amount of the administrative history we
learnt which was full of fascinating facts about the Marriage Act of
17whatever which may have been fine if I went to work in a local
government archive but has been of little use to me in either a
pharmaceutical company or a university.  Learning the skills required
to quickly assimilate the admin history of whatever organisation you
work for and the context of the records it creates, would however be an
invaluable skill to acquire for all new archivists to acquire.

As I say, my experience of one of the MA courses is now five years old
and it may well be that they have all changed out of all recognition
since.  I am also grateful for Caroline's reminder of the Resource
study into Archives and Records Management education which will, I'm
sure address these issues and many more in full.

Regards

Steve

PS No it is not Friday and I'm not entirely sure why the comparison has
been made between what has been (to my mind) an entirely valid and
fruitful discussion about our profession's future and the end of week
'Friday-froth' we all know and love ;-)




On Wed, 27 Nov 2002 15:38:57 -0000 Mark Pomeroy
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I feel quite strongly about the presence of Palaeography, Diplomatics and
> Administrative History on Archive training courses.  I do so even though
> there is not one latin document in my Archives, not even so much as a motto.
>
> The study and practice of palaeography and diplomatics forces a student to
> confront textual anaylsis at extremely close quarters.  The fact that many
> will rarely confront carolingian miniscule is not the point.  Mediaeval
> manuscripts lend themselves very well to this didactic purpose.  All of the
> skills required to decode a '13th century' deed can be used on a modern
> document.  Ok, so in recent years typescript has diminished the importance
> of palaeography, but how many of us have to fight with mid-'19th century'
> scrawls on a weekly basis?  Could you do it if it wasn't for the anguished
> squinting involved in studying for the Diploma/MA?
>
> Same goes for Diplomatics; in spades.  The discipline of diplomatics is
> still central to the construction of all documents, particularly those of an
> official nature.  Administrative history has often been the poor cousin of
> the other skills, I feel more emphasis should be laid on it.
>
> All of these skills should be pushed on to the students at a more
> theoretical level, making it clear that each is a principle liying at the
> heart of all recorded information.  Palaeography, diplomatics and
> administrative history are my toolkit, without them I would be like a
> fireman without a hose.
>
> mark
>
>
> *      *      *      *
> Mark Pomeroy
> Archivist
> Royal Academy of Arts
> London
> W1J 0BD
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----------------------
Steve Bailey,
Records Manager
Joint Information Systems Committee
Tel: 07092 302850
Email: [log in to unmask]