Archival Studies and Community Documentation

Introduction Aims Internships Course Requirements Declaration of Minor

Introduction

The first of its kind within the City University of New York, this program, sponsored by the Department of History and the Brooklyn College Library, complements course work with diverse, supervised internship opportunities and field experiences in a variety of New York City cultural organizations, including museums, archives, community organizations, and educational institutions. Intellectually, the Minor offers students the opportunity to cultivate a deeper understanding of New York's local communities-their history, geography, culture, folklore, religions, politics, and social structure. Practically, the Minor enables students to apply their disciplines or majors while exploring potential careers in various fields that draw on the study of community archives.

Aims of the Minor

The minor in Archival Studies and Community Documentation:

• Provides students with the intellectual and preprofessional foundation necessary for full  participation in an internship.
• Places students in supervised internships in archives, libraries, museums, local history and historical restoration projects, and educational institutions.
• Helps students to explore prospective careers in professions related to archives, community history and its documentation.
• Offers education majors fieldwork experience in community history that will enable them to prepare enriched curricula for their students.
• Promotes the documentation, preservation, and interpretation of New  York City's local communities, drawing on the Brooklyn College Archives, the "Keeper" of Brooklyn College's history, as a resource and repository for these activities.
• Fosters ongoing interchange between Brooklyn College and our neighboring communities, their people and their institutions.

A key component of the Minor in Archival Studies and Community Documentation is an internship program in which students gain firsthand experience by working in local organizations. This critical field experience provides a foundation in archival management and community history and offer students the opportunity to make important contacts with professional archivists, curators, educators and public historians. Typical activities of interns include processing archival collections, researching community history projects, assisting in the production of Web sites or CD-ROMs, and organizing local history exhibitions and curricula. Internships are tailored to each student's particular personal and academic research interests. Any internship requires completion of stated coursework prerequisites, a meeting with program administrators, and faculty approval. See the last paragraph (under "Declaration of Minor") for contact info which you will need to arrange a meeting.

Course Requirements

Students must complete 15 credits for the Minor, consisting of two courses in Theory and Methodology (6 credits); one Community-focused course (3 credits); and two Internship courses (6 credits). Two  of the required courses must be completed before students begin their internships.

  Theory and Methodology Courses (6 credits)
-Students must take History 69.1, Introduction to Archival Management, and EITHER History 43.17, The Public and the Past: Encountering History Outside the Classroom OR History 69.2, Oral History: Theory and Practice before they apply for or pursue any internships within the program.
 

History 69.1 Introduction to Archival Management The role of the archivist in historical research. Theoretical and historical basis of archival management. Types of archives. Applications of modern archival practices. The Brooklyn College archives will serve as the students laboratory. Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor. History 43.17 The Public and The Past: Encountering History Outside the Classroom Introduction to the field of public history. Films, television, living history, archives and archaeology; local and business history.

History 69.2 Oral History: Theory and Practice Theory of oral history interviewing and field based application.  Preparing for; conducting and transcribing oral history interviews.  Reviewing legal and ethical issues. Analyzing the relationship between history and memory. Studying the use of life-history narratives in print, film. television, radio, exhibitions, performance, community history projects ,and educational institutions including school classrooms. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Community -focused Courses (3 credits) Students must take one Community-focused course, selected from the list below, which must be in a department other than their major.  Subject matter is related to the general focus of the internships-the study of the local community.

 

For information about internship prerequisites, alternate or specific internship sites, and how to pursue a minor in Archival Studies and Community Documentation, contact Professor Anthony Cucchiara by telephone (718) 951-5346 or by email at tonyc@brooklyn.cuny.edu for more information. In order to be officially registered in the Minor, students needs to meet with Professor Cucchiara and must fill out a "Declaration of Minor" form which must be submitted to the Registrar's Office. Please email or call Professor Cucchiara for further details and/or to set up at meeting.

For more information please fill out a request form