334 Pages
    by Routledge

    334 Pages
    by Routledge

    Landmark Essays on Archival Research gathers over twenty years of essays addressing archival research methodologies and methods. They give readers a sense of how scholars have articulated archival research over the last two decades, providing insight into the shifts research methods have undergone given emerging technologies, changing notions of access, emerging concerns about issues of representation, fluid definitions of what constitutes an archive, and the place of archival research in hybrid research methods.

    This collection explores archival research involving a range of disciplinary interests, and will be on interest to scholars working on topics related to postmodern, feminist, working class, and cultural issues. With archival research now ubiquitous, illustrated by the recent number of published collections, journal articles, conference sessions, and pedagogical treatises devoted to the topic, this volume appeals to a broad range of scholarly fields and areas of study.

    Primary, archival investigation leads to novel insights and publications, and has a place in most of the research being conducted by compositions and rhetoric scholars. This volume will chart the recent historical trends of archival methodologies and suggest future directions for research.

    Acknowledgements

    Introduction

    Section 1: Claiming Ground

    1. Panel Organized by James J. Murphy, [Octalog I:] The Politics of Historiography (1988)

    2. Robert J. Connors, Dreams and Play: Historical Method and Methodology (1992)

    3. Cheryl Glenn, Remapping Rhetorical Territory (1995)

    4. Jacqueline Jones Royster, When the First Voice You Hear is Not Your Own (1996)

    Section 2: Accessing the Archives

    5. Panel Organized by Richard Leo Enos, Octalog II: The (Continuing) Politics of Historiography (1997)

    6. Linda Ferreira-Buckley, Rescuing the Archives from Foucault (1999)

    7. Richard Leo Enos, Recovering the Lost Art of Researching the History of Rhetoric (1999)

    8. Hui Wu, Historical Studies of Rhetorical Women Here and There: Methodological Challenges to Dominant Frameworks (2002)

    9. Shirley K. Rose and Irwin Weiser, The WPA as Researcher and Archivist (2002)

    10. Barbara A Biesecker, Of Historicity, Rhetoric: The Archive as Scene of Invention (2006)

    Section 3: Doing Archival Research

    11. Elizabeth (Betsy) Birmingham, "I See Dead People": Archive, Crypt, and an Argument for the Researcher’s Sixth Sense (2008)

    12. Barbara E. L'Eplattenier, An Argument for Archival Research Methods: Thinking Beyond Methodology (2009)

    13. Cheryl Glenn and Jessica Enoch, Drama in the Archives: Rereading Methods, Rewriting History (2009)

    14. Sammie L. Morris and Shirley K. Rose, Viewing the Archives: The Hidden and the Digital (2010)

    15. Tarez Samra Graban, Emergent Taxonomies: Using Tension and Forum to Organize Primary Texts (2010)

    Section 4: Rethinking the Archives

    16. Panel Organized by Lois Agnew, Laurie Gries, and Zosha Stuckey, Octalog III: The Politics of Historiography in 2010 (2011)

    17. Jonathan Buehl, Tamar Chute, and Anne Fields, Training in the Archives: Archival Research as Professional Development (2012)

    18. Kelly Ritter, Archival Research in Composition Studies: Re-Imagining the Historian's Role (2012)

    19. Lynée Lewis Gaillet, (Per)Forming Archival Research Methodologies (2012)

    Index

    Biography

    Lynee Lewis Gaillet

    A must read for both those new to the archives and seasoned researchers. What a boon to our discipline (as well as a joy!) to have these rich, provocative, and ground-breaking essays placed in conversation with one another. Lisa Mastrangelo, Associate Professor, Centenary College of New Jersey

     

    An invaluable sourcebook that belongs on every researcher’s desk, traces the history of archival research in rhetorical studies, and illustrates the major shifts that have taken place over the last three decades. The collection contains the important "Octalog" panels on the politics of historiography that mark each decade, highlighting how conversations and key players have shifted over time.

    This book will serve as a key text for graduate seminars and points toward the future of archival research with the emergence of digital archives and new ways of curating, collecting, and representing our rich rhetorical heritage. Gesa Kirsch, Bentley University, co-editor of Beyond the Archives: Research as a Lived Experience

     

    A history, a heuristic, and a how-to, this collection outlines a chronology and a set of useful perspectives and methodologies for new, working and seasoned scholars who use archival material for writing studies research. Liz Rohan, Associate Professor of Composition and Rhetoric, University of Michigan-Dearborn

     

    In this impressive volume of essential readings, newcomers to the field will find a comprehensive, accessible orientation to archival research methods and the perspectives on historiography that inform scholars’ use of those methods. At the same time, seasoned researchers will benefit from the book’s wide-ranging retrospective of approaches to archival work and the robust understanding of current issues in archival research that results. Wendy Sharer, Professor of English, East Carolina University