SHORT PAPERS: THEME – ARCHIVAL HISTORY

Chair: Jane Zhang

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Papers:

Exploring the value and meaning of professional work: a recent history of religious archivists in Ireland 

Speakers:

Dr Elizabeth Mullins, University College Dublin

Abstract:

This paper describes current work which focuses on the recent history of archivists in religious organizations in Ireland. The repositories of many of these organizations have been the focus of much public attention in the context of processing the history of institutional care in Ireland in the 20th century. Religious archives have also been the subject of scholarly comment that has highlighted the immense value of their records to the broader history of Ireland. In the midst of this kind of commentary, the voice of the archivist has been relatively quiet. Recent research that has been carried out by archivists has focused on describing the content of holdings, the history of institutions and the pastoral function of archives but has not generally connected to archival theoretical literature. This project begins to address this neglect. The research seeks through means of a literature review and resulting survey to describe the experience of being an archivist in a religious organization in contemporary Ireland, focusing on areas such as appraisal, access, organizational context, and emotional labor. The research will also explore if it is possible to link the idea of writing a history of the profession with a discussion of the values and meaning which sustain archivists, particularly when working in contested spaces.  In this sense while focusing on a specific group of professionals the research seeks to contribute to contemporary discussion around the role of affect and the extent to which meaning matters in archival work. This paper will introduce the contemporary context, research design and status of this on-going project.

The Historical Context and Stage Characteristics of Archives Administrative Supervision in China

Speakers:

• Yao Jing, School of Information Resource Management, Renmin University of China
• Jia Xiaoshuang, School of Information Resource Management, Renmin University of China
• Xu Yongjun, School of Information Resource Management, Renmin University of China

Abstract:

“Archives administrative supervision” is a system of supervision and inspection of archives work with Chinese characteristics. It emphasizes that the department in charge of archives should supervise and inspect archives work in the administrative areas based on the administrative authority according to law. The purpose is to strengthen archives management and standardize archives work; The subject is the Archives Bureau at all levels; The objects cover the archives work from central to local; The content includes the implementation of policies and the punishment of illegal archives activities; The methods include on-site archives supervision and inspection, etc. Based on the perspective of historicism, this paper uses policy analysis method to analyze the relevant archives laws and regulations. Taking the promulgation time of the Archives Law in 1987, 1996, 2016 and 2020 as the dividing node, the development history of Chinese archives administrative supervision is divided into four stages: brewing stage (1949-1987), germination stage (1987-1996), development stage (1996-2020) and strengthening stage (since 2020). In the brewing stage, there was lack of legal basis, weak supervision consciousness and unclear supervision subject; In the germination stage, the overall supervision framework had taken shape from no law to having law, from scattered regulations to special regulations; In the development stage, the legal work had achieved fruitful results, and the subject, object and content had been further clarified; In the strengthening stage, the new revision of the Archives Law in 2020 has achieved a “qualitative leap” and put forward new requirements for the reform. By combing the historical context and summarizing the characteristics of four stages, this paper summarizes the following its five historical evolution characteristics: First, supervision laws are increasingly perfect. Second, supervision subjects emphasize coordination. Third, supervision objects change with the times. Fourth, supervision content is constantly enriched. Fifth, supervision means are gradually diversified.

Will this session be recorded for the AERI2021 Youtube channel? Yes