85579 - Laboratory (1) (LM) (G. B)

Learning outcomes

The laboratory is designed to train students on some practical aspects. The activity is designed to allow students to apply specialized techniques in the management of disciplinary contents. The laboratories will deal with the themes related to one or more the areas of learning: computer science; literary, linguistic, historical/cultural and related to the arts in the digital context; transversal: economics, law and communication.

Course contents

The Laboratory aims to introduce the basics of “modern diplomatics” starting from the comparison with “classic diplomatics”. At the end of the course students will be able to: analyze documents on the basis of their form, formation, functions and uses; distinguish between documents and records; assess the trustworthiness of records in terms of reliability, authenticity, accuracy, and authentication. Students will also be able to use diplomatic analysis as useful instrument for all archival functions, from appraisal to arrangement and description, and from preservation to communication.

Course Topics:

1. Introduction to the discipline
2. The concepts of fact and legal act, document, and archival document (record)
3. The persons concurring in the creation of archival documents
4. The formation of archival documents and the characteristics they derive from it: the extrinsic and intrinsic elements, form and functions of archival documents
5. The concepts of reliability, accuracy, authenticity, authentication and usability
6. The status, methods, and forms of transmission of archival documents
7. Introduction to digital record legislation: International and Italian context
8. Case-study: InterPARES Project

Part of the Laboratory will be dedicated to document analysis and diplomatic criticism.

Readings/Bibliography

L. Duranti, Diplomatics: New Uses for an Old Science, Lanham, MD, and London, Scarecrow Press 1998 [The book contains a series of six articles published in «Archivaria» 28-31, 1989-1991/’92].

L. Duranti, Diplomatics, on Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, ed. by M. Bates, M. N. Maack, M. Drake, New York, Basel, Hong Kong, Marcel Dekker, Inc. 2009, pp. 1-9.

L. Duranti, Structural and formal analysis: the contribution of diplomatics to archival appraisal in the digital environment, on J. Hill, The Future of Archives and Recordkeeping: A Reader, London, Facet 2010, pp. 65-88.

L. Duranti, P. Franks, Encyclopedia of Archival Science, Lanham, MD, Rowman&Littlefield Publishing Group 2015. (View entries about all concepts covered in class).

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons and practical workshops concerning reading and analysis of documents. The workshop can be attended in person or remotely via Teams

Assessment methods

The final exam includes the theoretical and practical study (through examples) of 2 or 3 topics of the course to be presented in a maximum of 5 sildes.

Teaching tools

Teaching materials will be be provided by teachers during classes and published on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Annafelicia Zuffrano