Working in the Archives: Practical Research Methods for Rhetoric and Composition

334 Pages·2009·1.96 MB·English

by  Alexis E. Ramsey

Working in the Archives
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Working
Archives
in the
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Southern Illinois University Press / Carbondale
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Copyright © 2010 by the Board of Trustees,
Southern Illinois University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
“Invigorating Historiographic Practices in Rhetoric and Composition Studies” © 2010Cheryl
Glenn and Jessica Enoch; “Interview: David Gold—On Keeping a Beginner’s Mind” ©2010 David
Gold; “Invisible Hands: Recognizing Archivists’ Work to Make Records Accessible” ©2010 SammieL.
Morris and ShirleyK Rose; “Viewing the Archives: The Hidden and the Digital” ©2010 AlexisE.
Ramsey; “Searching and Seeking in the Deep Web: Primary Sources on the Internet” ©2010 Eliza-
beth Yakel; “Finding and Researching Photographs,” by Helena Zinkham, working for the Library
of Congress, is in the public domain; “Reading the Archive of Freshman English” ©2010 ThomasM.
Masters; “Emergent Taxonomies: Using Tension and Forum to Organize Primary Texts” ©2010 Tarez
Samra Graban; “The Guilty Pleasures of Working with Archives” ©2010 Linda S. Bergmann;
“Deep Sea Diving: Building an Archive as the Basis for Composition Studies Research” ©2010
Lynn Z. Bloom.
13 12 11 10 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Working in the archives : practical research methods for rhetoric and composition / [edited by]
Alexis E. Ramsey ... [et al.].
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8093-2950-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8093-2950-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. English language—Rhetoric—Study and teaching—United States. 2. English language—Rhetoric—
Research—Methodology. 3. Rhetoric—Archival resources. I. Ramsey, Alexis E., 1979–
PE1405.U6W67 2010
808'.042072—dc22 2009016638
Printed on recycled paper.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi
Z39.48-1992. ∞
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To those who left their traces for us to find
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Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
Alexis E. Ramsey, Wendy B. Sharer, Barbara
L’Eplattenier, and Lisa S. Mastrangelo
Part One: General Information for Using Archives
Invigorating Historiographic Practices in
Rhetoric and Composition Studies 11
Cheryl Glenn and Jessica Enoch
Archival Survival: Navigating Historical Research 28
Lynée Lewis Gaillet
Open to the Possibilities: Seven Tales of Serendipity in the Archives 40
Lori Ostergaard
Interview: David Gold—On Keeping a Beginner’s Mind 42
Interview: Peter Mortensen—“I Had a Hunch” 45
Part Two: Accessing the Archives
Invisible Hands: Recognizing Archivists’ Work
to Make Records Accessible 51
Sammie L. Morris and Shirley K Rose
Viewing the Archives: The Hidden and the Digital 79
Alexis E. Ramsey
vii
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viii contents
Locating the Archives: Finding Aids and Archival
Scholarship in Composition and Rhetoric 91
Chris Warnick
Searching and Seeking in the Deep Web:
Primary Sources on the Internet 102
Elizabeth Yakel
Finding and Researching Photographs 119
Helena Zinkham
Looking for Letters 135
Margaret J. Marshall
Interview: Lynée Lewis Gaillet—The Unexpected Find 149
Interview: Jessica Enoch—Striking Metaphors 152
Part Three: Working with/through Archival Material
Reading the Archive of Freshman English 157
Thomas Masters
Journeying into the Archives: Exploring the
Pragmatics of Archival Research 169
Katherine E. Tirabassi
(En)Gendering the Archives for Basic Writing Research 181
Kelly Ritter
Archival Research as a Social Process 195
Neal Lerner
Emergent Taxonomies: Using Tension and Forum
to Organize Primary Texts 206
Tarez Samra Graban
The Guilty Pleasures of Working with Archives 220
Linda S. Bergmann
The Personal as Method and Place as Archives: A Synthesis 232
Liz Rohan
Interview: Kathryn Fitzgerald—“I’m Open to Whatever I Discover” 248
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contents ix
Interview: Kenneth Lindblom—Spinning Gold from Old Straw 250
Interview: Lindal Buchanan—Making Fortunate Connections 253
Part Four: Creating the Archive as Research Process
Keeping the Conversation Going: The Archive Thrives
on Interviews and Oral History 259
Brad E. Lucas and Margaret M. Strain
Deep Sea Diving: Building an Archive as the Basis
for Composition Studies Research 278
Lynn Z. Bloom
Autobiography of an Archivist 290
Nan Johnson
Contributors 303
Index 309
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