Affiliations: School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of British Columbia, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 470-1961 East Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada | Tel.: +1 604 827 5905; E-mail: jen.douglas@ubc.ca
Abstract: In 2001, Catherine Hobbs referred to silences around personal archives, suggesting that these types of archives were not given as much attention as organizational archives in the development of archival theory and methodology. The aims of this article are twofold: 1) to investigate the extent to which such silences exist in archival education programs; and 2) to suggest reasons why the study of personal archives should be more fully integrated into such programs. The article reports findings of a small, exploratory study of archival education program descriptions and course syllabi that looked for evidence of the teaching of personal archives. After showing how limited an explicit focus on personal archives in archival education appears to be, the author suggests that teaching personal archives can provide a means of highlighting gaps in and challenging traditional archival theory; contributing to the developing understanding of the affective dimensions of archives and archival work; and reinvigorating archival advocacy.
Keywords: Archival education, personal archives, manuscripts, special collections, personal records, archival curriculum, archival advocacy, archives and affect, empathy
