Landmark Essays on Archival Research

This collection offers essays from more than twenty years of archival research methodologies and methods. The selection of essays found within, presented chronologically, bring forward the theories and practices that define this essential form of scholarly inquiry. They allow readers to get a sense of how scholars have articulated archival research, giving them insight into the shifts research methods have undergone given emerging technologies, changing notions of access, emerging concerns about issues of positionality and representation, fluid definitions of what constitutes an archive, and the place of archival research in hybrid research methods.

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.