Archive, Book, Record: An Introduction to Yale's Special Collections

<p>In-person Course. What kinds of materials are preserved in the special collections of libraries and museums and how did they get there? How do we use these materials to reconstruct untold histories, to resurrect lost lives and their stories, and to study the making of cultural artefacts? This course offers a hands-on introduction to Yale’s Special Collections through an investigation of personal archives (including letters, photographs, drawings, audio recordings, etc.), rare books (broadly defined—including manuscripts, atlases, scrolls), and other ephemera that constitute the human record (clothes, playing cards, teeth, ceramics, among others). Students read foundational texts in critical archival studies and the history of the book, taking a wide-ranging, inclusive, and global approach-and put them in dialogue with materials from Yale’s Special Collections. All classes meet at the Beinecke library. Students work with rare materials in each session while also developing a final project based on these materials. Enrollment limited to 10 students.&#160;1 Credit. Session A: May 27 – June 28. Tuition: $5070.</p>