“The power to narrate, or to block other narratives from forming and emerging, is very important to culture and imperialism, and constitutes one of the main connections between them.” Edward Said: Culture and Imperialism “There is no political power without control of the archive, if not of memory.” Jacques Derrida, Archive Fever “One of the […]
Tag: Archives
Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC)
On Human Rights Day, we might devote attention to the many groups that have been protesting against recent shifts in the understanding of “citizenship” in India. The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, was designed to amend the Citizenship Act 1955 to recognize specific types of illegal immigrants, segregated by religion and country of origin. It was […]
December 10th: International Human Rights Day: an interview with Chris Laico, Archivist at RBML
For the occasion of International Human Rights Day, which falls on December 10th every year, I sat down with Chris Laico, Archivist at RBML, who along with Catherine Carson Ricciardi and Carrie Smith*, is responsible for processing human rights related collections. I asked Chris a few questions about archives, human rights, his daily work, […]
South Asia Open Archives (SAOA) Launched
The South Asia Open Archives (SAOA) was launched on Friday, October 18th, in conjunction with the Annual Conference on South Asia in Madison, Wisconsin. A collaborative initiative of (currently 22) US libraries and (currently 4) partners from South Asia, SAOA is administratively hosted by the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) and available globally open access […]
The Muslim World Manuscript Project: A Codicology Workshop
On September 20th, sixteen students, along with a number of faculty members and librarians, gathered in the Chang Seminar Room of RBML to attend a full-day workshop on codicology led by Dr. Kelly Tuttle, the Muslim World Manuscript (MWM) Project Cataloger at UPenn. The workshop was supported by the Center for the Study of Muslim […]
Summer Processing of Hebraica and Judaica materials
During the summer, as things quiet down on campus, we often turn to large processing projects, providing further access to many of our otherwise unknown holdings. This summer has been no different in the Hebraica and Judaica collections. In past years, our talented students have cataloged about 2000 rare printed Hebrew books, which can now, […]
Online Resource: American Jewish Joint Distribution Council Archives
The JDC Archives holds the institutional records of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee since its founding in 1914. Given the nature of JDC’s work and the role it has played over more than a century of activity, these collections are among the most significant in the world for the study of modern Jewish history […]
#HumanRightsDay2015
December 10th is recognized as International Human Rights Day, commemorating the day in 1948 when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations. This summer I visited the Franklin Delano Roosevelt home and Presidential Library in Hyde Park, NY for the first time. A highlight of the visit was an exhibit […]
Human Rights 365
December 10th is Human Rights Day, first designated by the United Nations in 1950 to bring attention to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the principles it espoused. This year’s theme emphasizes that every day is human rights day. I think it’s fair to say that every day is human rights day within the […]
3 New British Online Archives Resources
Columbia University Libraries has purchased three new British Online Archives historical collections: The Indian papers of the 4th Earl of Minto (From the National Library of Scotland) The papers of Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, the 4th Earl of Minto, (1845-1914), Viceroy of India between 1905 and 1910, cover a period of dramatic and momentous change in […]