BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Sabre//Sabre VObject 4.5.8//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/Zurich X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/Zurich TZURL:http://tzurl.org/zoneinfo/Europe/Zurich BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:CEST DTSTART:19810329T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=-1SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:CET DTSTART:19961027T030000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10;BYDAY=-1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news1693@dg.philhist.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20230420T105621 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20230502T130000 SUMMARY:Close Encounters of the Primary Kind: Strategies for Navigating Arc hives and Archival Sources DESCRIPTION:Engaging with primary archival sources presents challenges and thrills for the researcher at different levels. There is\, firstly\, the i mmersion into the richness of an archive. In order to “find” something – anything – one must often first understand the history of the archi ve’s creation\, discover its structures\, and master its unique processe s. (Sometimes even navigate the whims of its custodians). And once a “di scovery” has been made or a relevant source identified\, our initial com prehension may be obstructed by puzzling handwriting\, unknown abbreviatio ns and symbols\, arcane references\, or simply unfamiliar vocabulary and s yntax. Having solved the paleographic and linguistic puzzles\, the histori an will next encounter the problem of “making sources speak” – that is\, the process of retrieving relevant and contextualized information tha t may provide valid historical insights. Often\, the breadth of available source-critical tools adds to\, rather than alleviates\, the confusion: af ter all\, the very idea of an historical source encapsulates a far-ranging and heterogeneous notion of evidence that may appear in written\, materia l\, digital\, and even oral forms.\\r\\nThis interdisciplinary graduate wo rkshop sets out to address and tackle some of the common (and less common) interpretative\, methodical\, and paleographical challenges in navigating archives and dealing with historical sources of all periods. Open to grad uate (and advanced undergraduate) students of history and related discipli nes\, the workshop aims to provide a collaborative learning platform enabl ing participants to gain new analytical impulses by means of diachronic an d methodical comparisons. In the way of an open roundtable discussion\, pa rticipants will be invited to outline their work and current source-relate d challenges to their peers\, thus identifying common problems and jointly developing solutions. On the basis of specific source examples provided b y the participants\, the discussion will revolve around questions such as\ \r\\n- What are useful navigational tools or “shortcuts” when entering an archive for the first time? What are the elements of a successful arch ival research strategy or plan?\\r\\n- How does one “learn to read” ar chival sources?  What kind of information does the source reveal with r espect to the question(s) asked?\\r\\n- What type of evidence (micro/macro \, anecdotal/general\, positive/circumstantial) does it contain\, and how does it relate to/ stand out from the historical context at large?\\r\\n- What are its limitations and/or points of connection to other types of sou rces?  How does it fit into/ challenge a given historical narrative?\\r \\n\\r\\nMaarten Halff has spent a lot of time in archives and in close en counters with archival sources. His particular scholarly interests lie in the early Italian Renaissance\, especially the social and political cultur es of Venice as well as Venetian-Byzantine relations. A lawyer and politic al scientist by training\, Maarten also has decades of experience as an in ternational electoral adviser\, having worked on numerous UN conflict reso lution and peacekeeping missions. Through his professional experience\, hi s interests also extend to modern and contemporary history\\r\\n\\r\\nFor any questions about the workshop please contact Marino Ferri (marino.ferri @unibas.ch)  X-ALT-DESC:

Engaging with primary archival sources presents challenges an d thrills for the researcher at different levels. There is\, firstly\, the immersion into the richness of an archive. In order to “find” somethi ng – anything – one must often first understand the history of the arc hive’s creation\, discover its structures\, and master its unique proces ses. (Sometimes even navigate the whims of its custodians). And once a “ discovery” has been made or a relevant source identified\, our initial c omprehension may be obstructed by puzzling handwriting\, unknown abbreviat ions and symbols\, arcane references\, or simply unfamiliar vocabulary and syntax. Having solved the paleographic and linguistic puzzles\, the histo rian will next encounter the problem of “making sources speak” – tha t is\, the process of retrieving relevant and contextualized information t hat may provide valid historical insights. Often\, the breadth of availabl e source-critical tools adds to\, rather than alleviates\, the confusion: after all\, the very idea of an historical source encapsulates a far-rangi ng and heterogeneous notion of evidence that may appear in written\, mater ial\, digital\, and even oral forms.

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This interdisciplinary gradua te workshop sets out to address and tackle some of the common (and less co mmon) interpretative\, methodical\, and paleographical challenges in navig ating archives and dealing with historical sources of all periods. Open to graduate (and advanced undergraduate) students of history and related dis ciplines\, the workshop aims to provide a collaborative learning platform enabling participants to gain new analytical impulses by means of diachron ic and methodical comparisons. In the way of an open roundtable discussion \, participants will be invited to outline their work and current source-r elated challenges to their peers\, thus identifying common problems and jo intly developing solutions. On the basis of specific source examples provi ded by the participants\, the discussion will revolve around questions suc h as

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- What are useful navigational tools or “shortcuts” when entering an archive for the first time? What are the elements of a success ful archival research strategy or plan?

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- How does one “learn to read” archival sources?  What kind of information does the source re veal with respect to the question(s) asked?

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- What type of evidenc e (micro/macro\, anecdotal/general\, positive/circumstantial) does it cont ain\, and how does it relate to/ stand out from the historical context at large?

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- What are its limitations and/or points of connection to o ther types of sources?  How does it fit into/ challenge a given histori cal narrative?

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Maarten Halff has spent a lot of time in archives and in close encounters with archival sources. His parti cular scholarly interests lie in the early Italian Renaissance\, especiall y the social and political cultures of Venice as well as Venetian-Byzantin e relations. A lawyer and political scientist by training\, Maarten also h as decades of experience as an international electoral adviser\, having wo rked on numerous UN conflict resolution and peacekeeping missions. Through his professional experience\, his interests also extend to modern and con temporary history

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For any questions about the workshop please co ntact Marino Ferri (marino.ferri@unibas.ch) \;

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