{"id":14198,"date":"2020-05-01T13:36:29","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T17:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/?page_id=14198"},"modified":"2024-09-06T15:15:28","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T19:15:28","slug":"forum-2017","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/community\/public-programs\/fall-forum\/forum-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Forum 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

On October 5-7, 2017, the BU Center for the Humanities hosted its inaugural forum, Recording Lives: Libraries and Archives in the Digital Age<\/em>,<\/strong> cosponsored by the Boston Public Library and the Boston Athen\u00e6um.<\/p>\n

Overview<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

The role of archives and libraries in the digital age is one of the most pressing concerns of humanists, scholars, and citizens worldwide. Questions of what to record and how to record it touch the very core of who we are as individuals, cultures, and nations. Now, more than ever, the accessibility of curated historical information, the sharing of resources, and the uses of digitization raise questions central to democratic society. This forum brought together specialists from academia, public libraries, governmental agencies, and philanthropic and commercial archives to pursue common questions about value across the institutional boundaries that typically separate us.<\/p>\n

The forum was launched with an event at the Boston Athen\u00e6um, Recording Lives at Lightning Speed, featuring panelists from the Athen\u00e6um, the Congressional Library & Archives, the Handel and Haydn Society, Historic Newton, Mount Auburn Cemetery, and the Mellon Sawyer Seminars at BU, to discuss how local cultural and academic organizations are deploying digital technologies to provide or expand access to their collections and engage more diverse audiences. On Thursday evening, October 5, Robert Darnton delivered a public lecture, Libraries, Books, and the Digital Future, in the newly renovated Rabb Hall at the Boston Public Library and Christopher Ricks provided commentary. This was followed by two days of panels in the Law School Auditorium on BU\u2019s Charles River Campus, which included scholars and practitioners in the fields of archives and libraries such as Alberto Manguel, Director of the National Library of Argentina, David Ferriero, the 10th National Archivist of the U.S., and Jeannette Bastian of Simmons School of Library and Information Sciences.<\/p>\n

Our fall forums are continuous intellectual enterprises that will shape and contribute to programming and scholarship for years to come. In keeping with this, the Center published a book collection<\/a><\/strong> of essays from the 2017 forum, and also hosted two follow-up events: a screening of Fredrick Wiseman\u2019s newest film, Ex Libris<\/em>, followed by a Q&A with Wiseman himself, and a roundtable discussion of archival work, \u201cA Report from the Archives,\u201d featuring speakers from The HistoryMakers\u00ae, the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, and BU Faculty from CAS and COM.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Detailed Schedule<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2017. BU SCHOOL OF LAW AUDITORIUM, 767 COMMONWEALTH AVENUE<\/strong><\/p>\n

9:00-1:00 Panel I: Setting Directions for Libraries and Archives in the Digital Age<\/strong>Introduced by Robert Hudson<\/a><\/strong>, University Librarian, Boston University and moderated by Jack Ammerman<\/strong><\/a>, Associate University Librarian for Digital Initiatives and Open Access, Boston University.<\/p>\n

Featured quotations from this panel:<\/p>\n

Jack Ammerman<\/strong>, <\/strong>describing \u201cThe New Information Superhighway,\u201d noted the epistemological differences between \u201cthe old commercial model,\u201d which involved \u201cfinding authorities and experts\u201d and the new model, exemplified by Wikipedia, \u201cwhich says that knowledge can be created through a social process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeannette Bastian: <\/strong>\u201cWe may need to be expanding our ideas of what documents are.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Ferriero<\/strong>: \u201cThe creation of a library is an act of faith. The society creating the library must believe in the past and the future and the value of preserving them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alberto Manguel <\/strong>on <\/strong>becoming Head of The National Library of Argentina: \u201cI felt like someone who has been writing recipes for decades and suddenly finds himself in the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Featured panelists:<\/p>\n

Jeannette Bastian<\/strong><\/a>, Simmons School of Library and Information Sciences
\nRadical Recordkeeping: How Community Archives Are Changing How
\nWe Think About Records
\n<\/em>Dan Cohen<\/strong><\/a>, Northeastern University
\nFrom Open Access to Maximal Access
\n<\/em>David Ferriero<\/strong><\/a>, National Archives of the United States
\nCreating a Digital Future for Federal Records
\n<\/em>Alberto Manguel<\/strong><\/a>, National Library of Argentina
\nA National Library in the Digital Age
\n<\/em>Vita Paladino<\/a><\/strong>, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University
\nCrossing Oceans to Present Recorded Lives to the Future
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Q&A Panel I<\/a><\/strong>, moderated by Jack Ammerman<\/p>\n

2:00-5:30 Panel II: Digital Scholarship and Practice<\/strong>Introduced by <\/strong>Peter Schwartz<\/strong><\/a>, World Languages & Literatures, Boston University and moderated by Vika Zafrin<\/strong><\/a>, Digital Scholarship Librarian, Boston University.<\/p>\n

Featured quotations from this panel:<\/p>\n

Ellen Cushman: <\/strong>\u201cHow do people use tools of literacy to persevere in unequal relationships? Western Archives teach epistemological obedience. Indigenous languages are key means of decolonizing the Archive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom Mullaney, <\/strong>commenting on his Digitization Project, \u201cNo Room For The Dead: On Grave Relocation In Contemporary China\u201d: \u201cA mirror image of the One-Child Policy\u2013the overpopulation of the living\u2013the corpse relocation project is meant to deal with the overpopulation of the dead\u2026my mind had no fighting chance to wrap itself around this phenomenon\u201d hence the project\u2019s platform, designed for \u201cElegance and simplicity, moving in and out among different scales, micro and macro.\u201d<\/p>\n

Featured panelists:<\/p>\n

Ellen Cushman<\/strong><\/a>, Northeastern University
\nSupporting Manuscript Translation in Library and Archival Collections: Toward Decolonial Translation Methods
\n<\/em>Harriett Green<\/strong><\/a>, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
\nBuilding From the Inside Out: Facilitating Digital Scholarship Collaboratories in the Library
\n<\/em>Tom Mullaney<\/strong><\/a>, Stanford University
\nA War Between the Living and the Dead: On Grave Relocation in Contemporary China
\n<\/em>Fallou Ngom<\/strong><\/a>, Boston University
\nAjami Digital Scholarship: Challenges and Opportunities<\/em><\/p>\n

Q&A Panel II<\/a><\/strong>, moderated by Vika Zafrin<\/p>\n

5:30-7:30 Public Reception at Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center
\n771 Commonwealth Avenue, First Floor<\/strong><\/p>\n

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2017. BU SCHOOL OF LAW AUDITORIUM, 767 COMMONWEALTH AVENUE<\/strong><\/h5>\n

9:00-12:30 Panel III: Preservation Spaces, Open and Closed<\/strong>Introduced by Christopher Maurer<\/strong>, Romance Studies, Boston University and moderated by Jeffrey Henderson<\/strong>, Classical Studies, Boston University.<\/p>\n

Featured quotations from this panel:<\/p>\n

David Wexler:<\/strong> \u201cEthic of best archives and platforms: thinking of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Featured panelists:<\/p>\n

Tom Blake<\/strong><\/a>, Boston Public Library
\nExtending our Reach: Scaling Local Digitization Services at the BPL for Global Research and Enjoyment \u2014 Free to All
\n<\/em>Stephanie Frampton<\/strong><\/a>, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
\nLibraries and the Future of the Past
\n<\/em>Julieanna Richardson<\/strong><\/a>, The<\/em> HistoryMakers\u00ae
\nPreservation: The HistoryMakers\u00ae Story
\n<\/em>David Wexler<\/strong>, Hollywood Vaults
\nBoldly Go Where Few Archives Have Gone: Creating Hollywood Vaults<\/em><\/p>\n

Q&A Panel III<\/a><\/strong>, moderated by Jeffrey Henderson<\/p>\n

1:30-5:00 Panel IV: The Global Politics of Archives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Introduced by <\/strong>Linda Heywood<\/strong><\/a>, History and African American Studies, Boston University and moderated by Maurice Lee<\/strong><\/a>, English, Boston University.<\/p>\n

Featured quotations from this panel:<\/p>\n

Alex Gil <\/strong>declared the subject of his talk at the outset to be \u201cAll cultural artifacts today in existence on the planet,\u201d and drew implicit comparison between his intellectual ambition and the greed of publishing monopolies such as Gale, ProQuest, and Taylor and Francis in the U.S. and Canada, which are regarded as \u201ctoo big to fail\u201d and give rise to various global pirating operations in places like India.<\/p>\n

Beatriz Jaguaribe<\/strong> raised a question about \u201cthe relationship between digitization and the dematerialization of experience,\u201d in emphasizing \u201cthe political consequences of archives.\u201d She noted how \u201cphotographs can be called upon to testify\u201d in situations where \u201cinterpretation is urgent and political.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirsten Weld <\/strong>quoted Eduardo Galeano, that \u201cevery act of destruction meets its match in an act of creation,\u201d to show that \u201crecords can be used for regaining human rights,\u201d and that \u201carchival cascades\u201d become \u201cjustice cascades,\u201d leading to the trials of perpetrators.<\/p>\n

Featured panelists:<\/p>\n

Alex Gil<\/strong><\/a>, Columbia University
\nThe Minimal Computing Gambit and Global South Archives
\n<\/em>Beatriz Jaguaribe<\/strong><\/a>, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
\nNambiquaras in Paris: Archival Images, Appearances and Disappearances
\n<\/em>Rudolf G. Wagner<\/strong><\/a>, Heidelberg University; Harvard University
\nFuture Memory: Preserving Diverse Voices From and About China From a Time of Unification of Thought
\n<\/em>Kirsten Weld<\/strong><\/a>, Harvard University Cold War Archives and Democratic Aspirations in Latin America
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Q&A Panel IV<\/strong><\/a>, moderated by Maurice Lee<\/p>\n

PANEL FORMAT<\/strong><\/h5>\n

After a brief introduction, each panelist will speak for approximately 20 minutes, and the session will close with a panel discussion led by the moderator that also includes time for questions from the audience. On both days, refreshments will be available during mid-panel breaks and lunch will be available between the panels for those who have registered to attend. The buffet lunch will be in Barristers Hall, across from the BU School of Law Auditorium.<\/p>\n

RECEPTIONS<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The Boston University Center for the Humanities is grateful to our co-sponsors for hosting receptions: Boston Public Library<\/strong> on Thursday, October 5, 2017 at 7:30 PM and Howard Gotlieb Center for Archival Research<\/strong> on Friday, October 6, 2017 at 5:30 PM.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Pre-Forum Event<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

THE BOSTON ATHEN\u00c6UM HOSTS <\/strong>RECORDING LIVES AT LIGHTNING SPEED<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Thursday, October 5, 2017, at noon. 10 \u00bd Beacon Street<\/strong><\/p>\n

In conjunction with the Boston University Center for the Humanities\u2019 fall forum, Recording Lives: Libraries and Archives in the Digital Age<\/strong>, the Boston Athen\u00e6um is hosting a conversation about how local cultural organizations are deploying digital technologies to provide or expand access to their collections and engage audiences. This public program will look at a range of digital projects across the spectrum of Boston-area cultural organizations to investigate how the institutions charged with preserving the material past are embracing the digital present and planning for the future.<\/p>\n

Each representative from the six cultural organizations listed below will have five minutes to present. Following the \u201clightning round\u201d of presentations, the presenters will invite members of the audience to join the conversation.<\/p>\n

The Boston Athen\u00e6um<\/strong><\/a> first opened its doors in 1807 with aspirations of \u201ccombining the advantages of a public library [and] containing the great works of learning and science in all languages.\u201d Today it remains a vibrant humanities library that serves a wide variety of members and visitors with distinguished circulating and reference collections, rich and varied special collections, and as a place for the exchange of ideas.<\/p>\n

The Congregational Library & Archives<\/strong><\/a> began in 1853 when a small group of Boston clergymen donated 56 books from their personal collections. It has since become an internationally recognized resource for scholars, religious leaders, and local churches. It is a thriving center for anyone wanting to understand more about a religious tradition that has deeply informed American culture.<\/p>\n

The Handel and Haydn Society<\/strong><\/a> (H+H) is a Boston-based internationally acclaimed period instrument orchestra and chorus. Founded in 1815, H+H is the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the United States and is unique among American ensembles for its longevity, capacity for reinvention, and distinguished history of premieres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Harry Christophers, the ensemble embraces historically informed performance bringing classical music to life with the same immediacy it had the day it was written.<\/p>\n

Historic Newton<\/strong><\/a> is a public\/private partnership between the Newton Historical Society and the City of Newton that inspires discovery and engagement by illuminating the stories of the Newton community with the context of American history. Historic Newton operates the Jackson Homestead and the Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds, maintains an archive related to the history of Newton, and cares for three historic burying grounds.<\/p>\n

Bostonians founded Mount Auburn Cemetery<\/strong><\/a> in 1831 to solve an urban land use problem created by an increasing number of burials in the city and to create a tranquil and beautiful place where families could commemorate their loved ones. Mount Auburn quickly became the model for the American \u201crural\u201d cemetery movement. Today Mount Auburn continues its dual role, serving as both an active cemetery and a \u201cmuseum\u201d preserving nearly two centuries of changing attitudes about death and changing tastes in architecture and landscape design.<\/p>\n

The Mellon Sawyer Seminars at Boston University<\/strong><\/a>, organized by professors Juliet Floyd (BU Philosophy), James E. Katz (BU Division of Emerging Media), and Russell Powell (BU Philosophy) and titled \u201cThe Philosophy of Emerging Computational Technologies: Humans, Values and Society in Transition,\u201d focuses on ethical, social, legal, and epistemological issues arising out of emerging computational technologies. Experts from other universities will visit Boston University (BU) to discuss their newest ideas, joined by up-and-coming faculty in the Boston area and members of dedicated graduate seminars in philosophy and emerging media. The aim is to foster an inclusive, reflective conversation in the Boston area about how best to thematize, research, and reason about philosophical, social, and ethical understandings of everyday life in an age of rapid technological transformation.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Follow-Up Events<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

REPORT FROM THE ARCHIVES<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Untitled-1\"
Professor Louis Chude-Sokei (EN),\u00a0PhD Candidate\u00a0Christine D\u2019Auria (AMNESP), Professor Walter Fluker (STH), Professor Richard\u00a0Lehr (Journalism),\u00a0Vita Paladino (Director & Curator, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center), and\u00a0Julieanna Richardson (Founder & Executive Director, The HistoryMakers)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Report from the Archives, a round table discussion of archival work featuring speakers from The HistoryMakers, the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, and BU faculty, took place on February 6, 2018. Cosponsored by the BU Center for the Humanities and the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, the event was attended by BU students, BU staff, and professionals from local libraries and institutions.<\/p>\n

Louis Chude-Sokei, Professor of English, George and Joyce Wein Chair in African American Studies, and Director of the African American Studies Program moderated. Panelists highlighted apsects of archival work ranging from research to management. Christine D\u2019Auria (PhD Candidate, American and New England Studies) discussed recovering otherwise suppressed materials from the McCarthy era in the archives; Walter Fluker (Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Ethical Leadership) described a sense of awe researching in the archives; Dick Lehr (Professor of Journalism) noted his experience using the archives as part of writing a nonfiction narrative story and made the point that the archival work by others can be re-mined for new purposes; Vita Paladino (Director & Curator, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center) informed us about developing and managing a contemporary archive with progressive cultural goals; and Julieanna Richardson (Founder & Executive Director, The HistoryMakers) shared her experience at the intersection between public and digital humanities, illustrating modern archival capabilities (including mixtapes) by showing clips from The HistoryMakers website.<\/p>\n

The panel concluded with a vibrant Q&A session concerning the nature of archives \u2014 \u201ca place of law and authority that can conceal, elude, elide or a place of wonderment\u201d \u2014 and the relevance of archives in contemporary society. The audience also asked about problems associated with acquiring and cataloging archives. One persistent theme emerged concerning the question of archival collection acquisition and the motivation toward a sense of a larger purpose in collecting minority culture. The panelists talked about how archives prevent marginalize cultures from being erased. Finally, all panelists agreed that direct experience with archival work is the best way to create converts, and Professor Chude-Sokei suggested that people are often doing archival work without knowing it. He raised the question of redefining the term archive<\/em>, leading the discussion towards thinking about what an archive is when the world is going digital. Professor Fluker noted, however, that some peoples with histories of hiding may be afraid of the archival process.<\/p>\n

Panelists left the audience thinking about the relationship of technology and the archives, and the topic flowed over into the reception where guests were surrounded by an array of objects from the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center.<\/p>\n

EX LIBRIS: THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY SCREENING<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Poster2018_Final\"<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, February 7th, the Center for the Humanities hosted a screening of Frederick Wiseman\u2019s newest film, Ex Libris<\/em>, followed by a Q&A with Wiseman himself. The audience appreciated Wiseman\u2019s detailed, descriptive portrait of the New York Public Library; the film showcases nearly every aspect of library programming and operations, from board meetings to cultural events to book groups to career fairs.<\/p>\n

The lively Q&A touched on:<\/p>\n

Wiseman\u2019s process of getting access to the institutions he films.<\/strong> He will not film what he is asked not to, but no institution gets to preview the final movie.<\/p>\n

People\u2019s reactions to being filmed.<\/strong> He related an incident that happened during the filming of Law and Order<\/em> (1969) when a cop began to choke a woman. Wiseman does not think the cop would have behaved differently if he had not been on camera and challenges the suggestion that the cop would have killed her if there no camera had been around. He claims that the majority of people are not good actors and he always stops filming if he thinks someone is acting for the camera.<\/p>\n

The construction of the film.<\/strong> He says, \u201cI could go through and tell you why every shot is there and why each shot is connected to the next.\u201d Wiseman shoots with only one camera and then edits to give the impression of events happening simultaneously. He openly acknowledges that his works are to some degree constructed and \u201cfictional.\u201d After all, he remarks, \u201cmeetings can be boring sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The process of research.<\/strong> \u201cThe shooting is my research\u201d he says and explains that he does not look into the institution extensively before the period of filming begins.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Forum Co-Sponsors<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Boston University Center for the Humanities
\nBoston University College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
\nBoston University Libraries
\nBoston University Office of the Provost
\nHoward Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University
\nBoston Athen\u00e6um
\nBoston Public Library<\/p>\n

Forum Planning Committee:<\/p>\n

Christopher Maurer, Romance Studies
\nVita Paladino, Gotlieb Archival Research Center
\nKim Sichel, History of Art and Architecture
\nCatherine Yeh, World Languages & Literatures
\nJames Uden, Classical Studies
\nVika Zafrin, BU Libraries<\/p>\n

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