Applying Radical Empathy Framework in Archival Practice


Monday, September 17, 2018

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Register: https://www.calarchivists.org/event-3034395

Hosted by the Society of California Archivist

Webinar description:

In their 2016 article "From Human Rights to Feminist Ethics: Radical Empathy in the Archives" (Archivaria), Michelle Caswell and Marika Cifor define radical empathy as "a willingness to be affected, to be shaped by another's experience, without blurring the lines between the self and the other." Caswell and Cifor identify archivists as caregivers whose responsibilities are not primarily bound to records but to records creators, subjects, users, and communities through "a web of mutual affective responsibility."

How can archivists apply the framework of radical empathy to everyday practice? This webinar, co-lead by Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez and Jasmine Jones, will guide discussion on the application of a feminist ethics of care to archival praxis. The speakers will examine the four proposed affective relationships Caswell and Cifor identify in the 2016 article: archivist to record creators, subjects, users, and communities, and will include a fifth, that of the archivist to the archivist.

The cost is $10 for SCA members; $5 for student members; and $20 for non-members. All registrants will receive a link to the webinar recording after the webinar is completed.

Presenters:

Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez is the Assistant University Archivist at UC Irvine where she works with administrators, faculty, and students about preserving their UCI history. She was previously the Processing Archivist for Latin American Collections at Princeton University and a Project Archivist at the Center for the Study of Political Graphics. She holds a MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in Art History from UCLA. Her professional interests are digital archives, digital preservation, and inclusive community building.

Jasmine Jones is the Head of Processing at UCLA Library Special Collections, where she works with and thinks about the relationship between people, systems infrastructure, and post-acquisition processes. Previously, she worked at Smith College, as the Metadata and Technical Services Archivist in Special Collections. She holds an MSLIS, Archives Management concentration, and an MA in History from Simmons College.

Both Elvia and Jasmine are editors of the upcoming special issue of Journal of Critical Library and Information Science on “Radical Empathy in Archival Practice.”

Who should attend:

Everyone interested in learning about radical empathy in the archives.

Registration open until September 10. Online payment is required.