ARST 517 History of Recordkeeping – Course Syllabus (3)
We acknowledge that we are on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓
speaking Musqueam people.
Program: MAS
Year: 2015, Summer Session, Term 1
Course Schedule: Mondays, 1:00-3:50; and Wednesdays 1:00-3:50
Location: IKBC 158
Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Douglas
Office location: SLAIS 488
Office phone:
Office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 11:30-12:30 pm, or by appointment
E-mail address: jen.douglas@ubc.ca
Connect: http://connect.ubc.ca
Course Goal: The goal of this course is to provide students with an historical foundation for
understanding contemporary record-keeping practices.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course students will be able to:


Demonstrate understandings of purposes and methods of generating, maintaining, and preserving
records in the context of different historical periods, traditions, and juridical systems. (Graduate
competencies: 1.4, 2.1, 4.1)
Demonstrate critical appreciation of factors influencing record-keeping practices in different
societies at different times. (Graduate competencies: 1.4, 2.1, 4.1)
Course Topics:




The preservation of records as evidence and memory from antiquity to the present.
Specific methods associated with creating, handling, and preserving records from antiquity to the
present.
Juridical and cultural factors influencing record-keeping practices in different historical periods and
in different juridical systems.
Continuities and discontinuities in record-keeping practices associated with different historical
periods and different juridical systems.
Prerequisites:
MAS and Dual students: completion of the MAS core courses
MLIS students: ARST 510 and completion of the MLIS core courses, plus permission of the SLAIS
Graduate Advisor
Format of the course:
The course will be run in seminar style, with each student responsible for the delivery of content in a
chosen topic area (in keeping with the course topics listed above). Time will be allotted in the first two
weeks of class for topic planning, research and preparation. We will work together to create a course
schedule and required reading list once topics have been chosen and approved.
Required and Recommended Reading:
A ‘seed’ bibliography of key readings will be distributed prior to the first class. Suggested readings for
the first two weeks of class are listed below and available either online or through Connect. Additional
required and suggested readings related to student seminar presentations will be determined during the
early weeks of the course and disseminated through Connect.
Suggested reading:
Clanchy, M.T. “‘Tenacious Letters’: Archives and Memory in the Middle Ages.” Archivaria 11 (Winter
1980-81): 115-125.
Cook, Terry. “The Importance of Challenging Absolutes in Graduate Archival Education Programs.”
American Archivist 63 (Fall 2000): 384-91.
Duranti, Luciana. “The Odyssey of Records Managers, Part I.” Records Management Quarterly 23 (July
1989): 3-11.
Duranti, Luciana. “The Odyssey of Records Managers, Part II.” Records Management Quarterly 23
(October 1989): 3-11.
MacNeil, Heather. “From the Memory of the Act to the Act Itself: The Evolution of Written Records as
Proof of Jural Acts in England, 11th to 17th Century.” Archival Science 6:3/4 (2006): 313-328.
McRanor, Shauna. “Maintaining the Reliability of Aboriginal Oral Records and Their Material
Manifestations: Implications for Archival Practice.” Archivaria 43 (Spring 1997): 64-88.
Nesmith, Tom. “What’s History Got to Do With It?: Reconsidering the Place of Historical Knowledge in
Archival Work.” Archivaria 57 (Spring 2004): 1-28.
Piggott, Michael. “The History of Australian Records Keeping: A Framework for Research.” Australian
Library Journal (November 1998): 343-54.
Sickinger, James. “Literacy, Documents and Archives in the Ancient Athenian Democracy.” American
Archivist 62 (Fall 1999): 229-246.
Thomas, Rosalind. “Beyond the Rationalist View of Writing: Between ‘Literate’ and ‘Oral’” and “Literacy
and the State: The Profusion of Writing.” In Literacy, Orality and Ancient Greece. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1992, 74-100; 128-157.
Course Assignments:
Assignment Name
Seminar presentation
Due Date
Schedule of presentations
to be decided in class
Weight
40%
Seminar presentation
write-up
One week following
seminar presentation
30%
Participation
 Active
participation
 Peer feedback
Throughout
30%


(15%)
(15%)
Notes
You MUST email me
your seminar topic by
Friday, May 15,
midnight.
reports (2)
Course Schedule:
Date
Monday
May 11
Topic


Introduction to course
What’s history got to do with it?: Why study history of
archives and recordkeeping?
Suggested reading:
 Cook, “Importance of Challenging Absolutes”
 Duranti, “Odyssey of Records Managers”
 Nesmith, “What’s History Got to Do With It?”
 Piggott, “The History of Australian Records Keeping”
Wednesday
May 13


Monday
May 18
NO CLASS – Victoria Day
Wednesday
May 20

Brainstorming and scheduling of student presentations
Allotted research time
Orality, literacy and recordkeeping practices
Suggested reading:
 Sickinger, “Literacy, Documents and Archives”
 Thomas, “Beyond the Rationalist View” and “Literacy
and the State”
 Clanchy, “Tenacious Letters”
 MacNeil, “From the Memory of the Act”
Monday
May 25

TBA: Student presentations
Wednesday
May 27

TBA: Student presentations
Monday
June 1

TBA: Student presentations
Wednesday
June 3

TBA: Student presentations
Monday
June 8

TBA: Student presentations
Wednesday
June 10
CLASS CANCELLED
(ACA Annual Conference, Regina)
Monday
June 15

TBA: Student presentations
Wednesday
June 17

TBA: Student presentations

Course wrap up
Attendance: The calendar states: “Regular attendance is expected of students in all their classes
(including lectures, laboratories, tutorials, seminars, etc.). Students who neglect their academic work
and assignments may be excluded from the final examinations. Students who are unavoidably absent
because of illness or disability should report to their instructors on return to classes.”
Evaluation: All assignments will be marked using the evaluative criteria given on the SLAIS web site.
A penalty of 1% per day will be imposed on assignments that are not handed in by the due date.
Papers that are still outstanding one week after the due date will not be accepted. Extensions without
penalty will only be granted in cases of legitimate illness (documented) or emergencies. Such
extensions will not be granted for requests made on the due date for the assignment. Requests for
extension for other reasons (i.e. other than a documented illness or emergency) will be considered, but
are not guaranteed, and if granted, are subject to late penalties as agreed upon between the student
and the instructor. This policy is to ensure fairness to all students.
Written & Spoken English Requirement: Written and spoken work may receive a lower mark if it is, in
the opinion of the instructor, deficient in English.
Access & Diversity: Access & Diversity works with the University to create an inclusive living and
learning environment in which all students can thrive. The University accommodates students with
disabilities who have registered with the Access and Diversity unit:
[http://www.students.ubc.ca/access/drc.cfm]. You must register with the Disability Resource Centre to
be granted special accommodations for any on-going conditions.
Religious Accommodation: The University accommodates students whose religious obligations
conflict with attendance, submitting assignments, or completing scheduled tests and examinations.
Please let your instructor know in advance, preferably in the first week of class, if you will require any
accommodation on these grounds. Students who plan to be absent for varsity athletics, family
obligations, or other similar commitments, cannot assume they will be accommodated, and should
discuss their commitments with the instructor before the course drop date. UBC policy on Religious
Holidays: http://www.universitycounsel.ubc.ca/policies/policy65.pdf .
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism
The Faculty of Arts considers plagiarism to be the most serious academic offence that a student can
commit. Regardless of whether or not it was committed intentionally, plagiarism has serious academic
consequences and can result in expulsion from the university. Plagiarism involves the improper use of
somebody else's words or ideas in one's work.
It is your responsibility to make sure you fully understand what plagiarism is. Many students who think
they understand plagiarism do in fact commit what UBC calls "reckless plagiarism." Below is an excerpt
on reckless plagiarism from UBC Faculty of Arts' leaflet, "Plagiarism Avoided: Taking Responsibility for
Your Work," (http://www.arts.ubc.ca/arts-students/plagiarism-avoided.html).
"The bulk of plagiarism falls into this category. Reckless plagiarism is often the result of careless
research, poor time management, and a lack of confidence in your own ability to think critically.
Examples of reckless plagiarism include:

Taking phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or statistical findings from a variety of sources and piecing
them together into an essay (piecemeal plagiarism);

Taking the words of another author and failing to note clearly that they are not your own. In other
words, you have not put a direct quotation within quotation marks;

Using statistical findings without acknowledging your source;

Taking another author's idea, without your own critical analysis, and failing to acknowledge that this
idea is not yours;

Paraphrasing (i.e. rewording or rearranging words so that your work resembles, but does not copy,
the original) without acknowledging your source;

Using footnotes or material quoted in other sources as if they were the results of your own
research; and

Submitting a piece of work with inaccurate text references, sloppy footnotes, or incomplete source
(bibliographic) information."
Bear in mind that this is only one example of the different forms of plagiarism. Before preparing for their
written assignments, students are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the following
source on plagiarism: the Academic Integrity Resource Centre
http://help.library.ubc.ca/researching/academic-integrity. Additional information is available on the
Connect site http://connect.ubc.ca.
If after reading these materials you still are unsure about how to properly use sources in your work,
please ask me for clarification.
Students are held responsible for knowing and following all University regulations regarding academic
dishonesty. If a student does not know how to properly cite a source or what constitutes proper use of a
source it is the student's personal responsibility to obtain the needed information and to apply it within
University guidelines and policies. If evidence of academic dishonesty is found in a course assignment,
previously submitted work in this course may be reviewed for possible academic dishonesty and grades
modified as appropriate. UBC policy requires that all suspected cases of academic dishonesty must be
forwarded to the Dean for possible action.