ELIZABETH RAMSEY

802 THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SERVICE: DIAGNOSIS AND

CUSTOMIZATION

LEARNING SEMINAR

Cultural Biasesin Archival Collections

Cultural Biases in Archival Collections

The Fallibilityof Archival Collections

The Illusion of Neutrality

In 1970 “radical historian” Howard Zinn told an audience of archivists,

The existence, preservation, and availability of

archives, documents, records in our society are very

much determined by the distribution of wealth and

power… biased towards the important and powerful

people of the society, tending to ignore the impotent

and obscure.”

The Wielding of Power or…

…“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”

Control over social (collective) memory

Control over preservation and security of records

Role as interpreter and mediator between records and users

Efforts at Diversity

“The relevance of archives to society and the completeness of the documentary record hinge in part on the professions success in ensuring that its members and the holdings that they manage reflect the diversity of society as a whole”

- Issue Statement from- SAA President January 2007

SAA Diversity

Committee

Task Force on Diversity

Diversity and Upward Mobility

Coordinating Committee

Recruitment Team

Archivists of Color Round

Table

Lesbian and Gay Archives Roundtable

Intercultural Competence

Dr. Milton Bennett (among many other researchers) asserts that InterculturalCompetence is:

Measurable:Intercultural DevelopmentInventory

Teachable/Achievable:Developmental Model ofIntercultural Sensitivity

DMIS

Denial

Defense

Minimizatio

n

Acceptance

Adaptation

Integration

ETHNOCENTRIC STAGES:

ETHNORELATIVE STAGES:

The ethnorelative stages are characterized by a positive mindset about cultural difference. These stages are indicative of a person who will tend to make more inclusive decisions and actively seek to build a diverse workforce and an inclusive work environment…

Human Rights and Social Justice

Nazi war criminals in Canada

Tuskegee syphilis study

South African State at the end of apartheid