TOWN ARCHIVES
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Adventures in Learning

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The syllabus is available for download and printing, but new resources will be added to the online version as the course progresses.
Download Syllabus
The syllabus for Detritus and Ephemera in New London's Archives, offered Fall 2022, appears below. This course meets weekly on Tuesday mornings from September 20 to October 25, with no class on October 18. Enrollment is limited to 35 students.
COURSE Objectives
This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of archival materials and research practices, and to provide insights into local history as it has been collected, preserved, and interpreted at the New London Town Archives.
logistics
Classes will meet for up to 2 hours (9:30 to 11:30 AM), depending on the weekly topic and level of discussion.
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Each class will include: (1) an introductory lecture on the history and archival requirements of that week’s material type; (2) an overview of its significance and representation in local archival collections; and (3) examples of research into facets of local history gathered from the week’s materials.

​For your future study or entertainment, the syllabus includes books related to each topic. Most are recently published and readily available at your local library (or inter-library loan). Free online resources are also noted and linked in the weekly class descriptions below.
SEP 20 — Imposing order
Overview of archival collections. Role of history committees and the public library in establishing New London’s Town Archives. Review of organizing principles and collections policy governing acquisitions.

REFERENCES:
  • ​Lubar, S.D., and S. Lubar. Inside the Lost Museum: Curating, Past and Present. Harvard University Press, 2017.  ▷Google Books preview
  • Pettegree, A. and A. der Weduwen, The Library: A Fragile History. Basic Books, 2021. ▷Google Books

RESOURCE:
Doing History podcast entitled "How Archives Work" — interview with Peter Drummey of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
How Archives Work

CASE STUDY:
An example of a recent acquisition by the Town Archives, this 1810 letter addressed to Job Seamans, Jr. in New London is ostensibly about Freemasonry business, but it also illustrates the state of money and banking in New England at the time.
SEP 27 — keeping count
Purposes and evolution of record keeping from ancient times to the present. A look at early town and church records and their content. A history of the town report.

REFERENCES:
  • Duncan, D. Index, A History of The. Penguin, 2021.▷ Google Books
  • Flanders, J. A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order. Basic Books, 2020. ▷Google Books preview
  • Kurlansky, M. Paper: Paging Through History. W.W. Norton, 2016. ▷Google Books preview

RESOURCE:
​This Past & Present article entitled "The Social History of the Archives" discusses the role of archives in historical research and early record-keeping in Europe.
Download Article
OCT 4 — real property
Grants and proprietorships in New Hampshire. Settlement patterns, subdivision & development. Oddities among the deeds. Taxation of property.

REFERENCES:​
  • ​Shorto, Rusell. The Island at the Center of the World. Vintage, 2005. ▷Google Books preview
  • Winchester, Simon. Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World. Harper, 2021. ▷Google Books

RESOURCE:
​Search for deeds in Merrimack County. Searching is free but retrieval of the actual scanned deeds is paid (and expensive).
Merrimack County Deeds
OCT 11 — family matters
Personal writing as a source of historical information. Difficulties of interpretation. Archival challenges posed by mixed media, albums and scrap books.

REFERENCES:
  • ​Lepore, Jill. The Secret History of Wonder Woman. Vintage, 2015. ▷Google Books preview
  • Wilkerson, Isabel. The Warmth of Other Suns. Random House, 2011. ▷Google Books preview

RESOURCE:
​Learn how to conduct an oral history interview with this free guidebook from the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
Download Guide
OCT 25 — Capturing light
History of photography, stereography, lantern slides. A look at the visual record of New London and early professional photographers. Postcards and tourism.

REFERENCES:
  • ​Gustavson, T. Camera: A History of Photography from Daguerreotype to Digital. Sterling Publishing, 2014. ▷Google Books
  • Pyne, L. Postcards: The Rise and Fall of the World’s First Social Network. Reaktion Books, 2021. ▷Google Books
  • Watson, R., and H. Rappaport. Capturing the Light: The Birth of Photography, a True Story of Genius and Rivalry. St. Martin’s, 2013. ▷Google Books preview

​RESOURCE:
Brief video demonstrations of a dozen different methods used in the history of photography; produced by the George Eastman Museum.
Eastman Museum Videos
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