CDQ213 | In the Dreamhouse: History, Social Change and the Queer Archive

The course will introduce students to basic principles and functions of archival practice, through thematic discussions and practical work in the QAMRA Archives. Students will develop an understanding of archives as records, repositories and institutions, and will explore the changing ways in which archives have shaped public knowledge and collective memory. The course will consider a variety of materials including memoir, testimony, government records, video games, personal collections, photographs, magazines, and case files, to understand what value and desires records come to be laden with, when they enter an archives for private or public access.

Each session will include discussions on records in the QAMRA archives. Over the course of the trimester, students will be expected to develop a hypothetical collection of archival value, with records including, but not limited to QAMRA’s holdings. They will assess and attend to each record’s condition, catalogue their collection, and write a finding aid for the same, along with a curatorial note. Guest lectures by archivists and conservationists will give students an opportunity to interact with those in the field of contemporary archives.