Urgent Archives: A Roundtable on Research Practices in a Crisis

Join the Program in the History of Medicine for the final roundtable discussion in a two-part series on research protocols and community-engaged scholarship.

Speakers: 

Myra Billund-Phibbs, Dept. of History, Univ. of Minnesota

Ellen Holt-Werle, University Archives, Univ. of Minnesota

Erik Moore, University Archives, Univ. of Minnesota

Lauren Ruhrold, Prog. in the History of Medicine, Univ. of Minnesota

These events are co-sponsored by the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine.

Previously, Laurie Beyer-Kropuenske and Dan Volkosh from the Office of the General Counsel presented a “data practices primer,” outlining the Freedom of Information Act, the Minnesota Government Data Practice Act, and how University of Minnesota employees create, receive, and maintain government data.

The April 7 conversation features University of Minnesota historians and archivists discussing the relationships between communities, researchers, and archives. For those who contribute to, depend on, or curate archival material, questions of urgency abound: sources may be in danger, stories may need to be told (or, in some cases, kept private), and our expertise may require us to be loud in a crisis. 

The roundtable participants will introduce their work, address critical questions about whether archives are value-neutral, and reflect on the pipeline between archives, researchers, and audiences (institutional or community). After short presentations, we will open the discussion to the whole room. What feels newly urgent in your role/field right now? What is the source of any changes in your concerns? Come and discuss with us!