Archival Studies
| Specialisatie van: | History |
|---|---|
| Graad: | Master of Arts in History |
| Onderwijsvorm: | Voltijd en deeltijd |
| Duur: | 1 jaar (voltijd); 1,5 jaar (deeltijd) |
| Start: | September |
| Taal: | Engels |
| Vestigingsplaats: | Leiden |
| Croho/isatcode: | 66034 |
Als student van de specialisatie Archival Studies richt je je op het verwerven van de kennis en vaardigheden waarover je als archivaris dient te beschikken, om de gebruikers van historische archieven op professionele wijze te kunnen begeleiden.
Je profiteert tijdens deze opleiding van onze structurele samenwerking met het Nationaal Archief in Den Haag. De specialisatie is, door zijn bijzondere focus, uniek in Nederland, en leidt archivarissen op die in staat zijn archieven te beheren en beschikbaar te stellen. Leiden is het enige opleidingsinstituut dat hier in voorziet.
Given the developments in the field of digitisation, this specialist field has undergone significant changes. Whereas archivists were previously specialists in the field of structuring and describing archives, palaeography, diplomacy, institutional history, etc., they are currently increasingly oriented towards the compilation and management of archives within the framework of information science.
It is vital for a public archive system to have access to a contingent of archivists trained in historical science and specialised in historical archival studies. Archives are more than simply information systems. They are in many cases information systems of institutions that are no longer in existence, that can only be understood in their historical context and that can be used for substantive historical research.
In addition to acquiring knowledge of the activities of institutions that compile archives, this specialisation therefore also focuses attention on:
- The relation between the institutions and the material traces left behind by these institutions, in the form of archives;
- The underlying reasons why the archives were compiled; the reasons for creating particular records are almost always embedded in a societal context. Consequently, the programme will examine not only the context of the particular archive, but also the societal context within which the institutions were founded and operated.
Special attention is given to archives created in a colonial context. In Jakarta alone there are in excess of 10 kilometres of Dutch-language archive material, collected by the Dutch East India company and colonial institutions. In other Southeast Asian countries and in South Africa, there are many hundreds of kilometres of Dutch-language archive material. The same applies to Surinam and the Dutch Antilles. The Historical Archival Studies specialisation will focus on these archives, both in the context of teaching and research, with the aim of training archivists who are able to manage these archives and make them accessible for historical research. Leiden is the only institution to offer this kind of training.
