Prof. Michael Dash – 3 M’s in French Caribbean Thought

Today we pause for a moment to pay tribute to  Professor J. Michael Dash who made his transition on June 02 2019.  As Head of the UWI Department of History and Archaeology at Mona, Prof. Matthew Smith wrote in his tribute…

” Michael Dash was born in Trinidad in 1948, one of a generation that had its intellectual coming of age in the heyday of independence in Trinidad and Jamaica after 1962. He went to Jamaica in the 1960s to pursue a degree in French at the UWI Mona campus. There was nothing unusual about this. The campus in the 1960s featured a healthy mix of some of the best and brightest students from across the region who interacted, collaborated, and sometimes married each other. The Mona campus at the time of Dash’s undergraduate years was a rich place for cultural exchange and intellectual growth. It had evolved greatly over the course of a decade from what an earlier undergraduate, Derek Walcott, referred to facetiously as “the ranch” to a gradually more developed place of ideas and culture. Dash would later recall, in a 2012 interview with The Public Archive,  “The Mona campus was the place to be in the late sixties. Lloyd Best, Orlando Patterson, Kamau Brathwaite, Rex Nettleford and so on were all on the faculty at Mona. The Wailers played at the Student Union fetes. We had had the Walter Rodney demonstrations in 1968, shut the university down and occupied the Creative Arts Centre. I think the times encouraged risk-taking.” Mona was a place of great ferment for Dash and it became a major part of his adult life.”

As stated by former Dean of the then Faculty of Arts and General Studies at Mona Dr. Pauline Christie at his inaugural Professorial Lecture,  Michael Dash was the first Professor in that Faculty to gain both his degrees at the UWI, Mona.  He spent two years at The UWI Cave Hill Campus as an Assistant Lecturer and a further two years at the University of Ahmadu Bello in Kano, Nigeria.  After returning to Mona in 1976 he was eventually promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1982, Reader in 1992, and eventually Professor in 1994.

In recognition of Prof. Dash’s contribution to academia the UWI Archives is pleased to share this excerpt from his inaugural professorial lecture delivered at the Mona Campus on December 2, 1994.  The theme of the lecture “Modernism, Modernity, and Modernization in French Caribbean Thought.

Once upon Time is Now

 

The Department of Library and Information Studies recently held its Biennial Ken Ingram Memorial Lecture which celebrates the life and work of a pioneering Caribbean bibliographer. With its theme on Storytelling as Caribbean Memory, the featured presenter was noted Jamaican Storyteller Dr Amina Blackwood-Meeks. In introducing Dr Blackwood-Meeks, Lecturer in the DLIS, Dr Stanley Griffin noted the value of Caribbean storytelling to information studies and professions. “The memory of our Caribbean people is living and ever growing, shared and passed down in our dance, performance and storytelling”. This was the story’s end or maybe it was the beginning to be continued in the minds of those in attendance.

Once upon a time is now began by revisiting a time long ago and Blackwoods-Meeks a powerful storyteller channeled ancestral memory through songs and performance, threw words at millennials, Mussolini, Hitler and invoked David Rudder’s apology to Haiti. In the midst of the story telling, chants of Chronixx’s Odd Ras, “Mi nah falla nobody” rang out during a segue to ‘Appropriateness’. It was an evening of stories that weaved across tales, history, and ‘Bones of Memory’.

Over 200 years later, Haiti remains in contempt as there is an absence of forward building on the victories of the Haitian Revolution.  Its accomplishment seemingly waning in significance over the ensuing years even for the people of the Caribbean for which this sacrifice was made. It was memory in anguish that inspired the apology “Haiti, I’m sorry we misunderstood you” suggests Blackwood-Meeks. She labels Rudder a singing storyteller who connected the past with the present in his apology to the ancestors.  Rudder’s work exemplifies the active and deliberate nature of preserving memory.

What is the importance of memory? There are dangers inherent in forgetting, more so in losing collective memory. Factors such as media, time and distance separate people from events in their lives and the stories that warehouse these events. Stories serve to connect and shape us collectively as much as individually. Much like the hip is connected to the neck through a series of bones. The story of the five sons with amazing abilities focused the spotlight on the difficulties with which people and communities wrestle in preserving memory. It was a son’s memory though not a personal memory, a communal memory that connected him to his missing father. In fact, this shared memory stoked embers that fired his brothers to the quest that uncovered the bones which eventually brought father home.

A nation whose sense of history is derived from the history of the struggle of its people mostly non-literate and without formal historians of their own, must boldly enter into its unwritten, invisible record the oral traditions, the collective memory of the people in order to truly reveal what in fact has been achieved. (Kamau Braithwaite)

In ancient and traditional societies, memory was the responsibility of the storyteller. They were responsible for preserving, making known and transmitting memories. Ken Ingram’s work in a parallel was largely concerned with documenting and sharing the sources of Caribbean History, these often shaped by memory.  The storyteller was also often responsible for firing up the collective. As for formerly enslaved and colonized people our goal of full emancipation is often kept alive through our oral traditions, our stories, our memories.

Blackwood-Meeks questioned whether Edwidge Danticat’s women washing at Dajabón River would have behaved differently if they had remembered and valued the significance of the place at which they toiled. Dajabón River holds the memory of gruesome events in 1937 and the women appeared to not realize their connections. Much like these ladies washing at the river, an exiled King was entreated to remember. In a place of convergence where Disney meets Mali at point in African cosmology, Lion King’ Simba is instructed by his ghostly father Mufasa.

Simba: Father…

Mufasa: Simba, you have forgotten me

Simba: No, how could I?

Mufasa: You have forgotten who you are, so you have forgotten me. Look inside yourself Simba, you are more than what you have become… Remember who you are…Remember.

The genealogy was obvious, but this memory is one of recognition, realizing the various events and roles that shaped this moment and the role being defined with us and for us. Blackwood-Meek calls this the ‘Longer Now’ embracing the Nigerian view of events that led up to a defining moment and their outcomes.

You can memba ehh. So wey dat good fah?

“The oral tradition, as a neglected resource is positioned within the context of rethinking what has been so long advocated”. Young people in Tanzania learn about illustrious ancestors through storytelling. Their family history is preserved and passed down through legends and helps them choose their role model. In a real way, ancestors participate in and influence life in Tanzania.

The oral tradition intertwines content, context and methodology. The Nigerian story of the five sons with amazing abilities emphasizes ‘remembering’ as the conscious calling back of dismembered parts into their rightful place.  As such memory provides healing, development and continuity. Kariamu Welsh-Asante, Professor of African dance proposes that ‘tradition always was’ and in African cosmology ‘tradition’ is linked to the extra realm similar to the concept of ‘Ras then a Ras now’ (Tony Rebel). Similarly, we learn of the comparative greatness of China from stories shaped by their recorded memory. These stories are acknowledged as sites which encode the attitudes and beliefs that define Chinese civilization.

“Life is greater than the living individual” (Beatrice Edgell), Blackwood-Meeks interprets Edgell’s statement as memory linking the experiences of one individual to another. Further, these experiences are not isolated narratives but having the capacity to bond people with their shared meaning. This reinforced by Professor John Tagg’s ‘memory is the inscription of social identity’. Patrice Lumumba attempted to reclaim memory when he encouraged and promoted African names for newborns and a return to African traditional dress. Surely, there is a role for stories in constructing cultural identity. There is also the need to reposition the value of folk tales as an imperative in the 21st Century.

 

Dr Amina Blackwood-Meeks’s work can also be found among the UWI Archives LSW collection.

LSW Listing:

The Life and Legacy of Miss Lou ” Noh Lickle Twang” – Panel 4 | Part 2

Blackwood-Meeks, Amina; Ford-Smith, Honor

UWI Museum ‘Confrontation’

UWI Museum continues to engage with their latest ongoing exhibition ‘Confrontations’. Here is a look behind the scene of “Confrontation”.
https://uwimuseum.wordpress.com/2018/11/07/a-v-another-perspective/

UWI Archives met Nobel Laureate

UWI Archives continues to document special UWI moments. The Faculty of Science and Technology dubbed their event “Meet a Nobel Laureate” where  UWI students and its wider community were invited to meet German Physicist and 1985 Nobel Prize winner for his work on the Quantum Hall Effect.

Nobel laureate Professor Klaus Von Klitzing visited the Mona campus and talked with Engineering students. His warm smile belied his passion and excitement for his favourite science, Physics.  He reports to have had a wonderful and stimulating time in his meetings with UWI students and a well of shared ideas. UWI buoyed by its recent jump in World University Rankings is taking every opportunity to stimulate its students to join the research ranks. Professor Klaus Von Klitzing’s passion is sure to have stimulated a number of students down this path.

Professor Klaus Von Klitzing with Marketing Officer of MaRCOMM Tashika Taylor

Professor Klitzing was a guest on the UWI “On Campus” radio programme produced by UWI Mona Marketing Recruitment and Communications Office (MaRCOMM) and recorded in the UWI Archives Media Lab.  This On Campus programme was aired on Sunday October 14, 2018 on RJR 94 at 4pm with Nobel Laureate Professor Klaus Von Klitzing reliving key moments of his visit with Jamaican students and the wider community.

An Archival Treasure Map: A Guide to the Riches of The UWI Archives

The intrigue of a treasure hunt, starts with a Treasure Map…

Every treasure hunt fantasy starts with the use of a mysterious map, directing the adventurous one to the buried riches untold.  If The UWI’s Archives were the undiscovered treasures of the University, and the Caribbean, then there finally is a Map to steer the ‘Wandering Wonderer’ (researcher) or the ‘Guiding Genius’ (archives staff) to the desired golden treasure piece (i.e. the record).

The UWI Archives Fonds Data Map (according ICA ISAD (G)) now mounted in the Archival Processing Room…

The Archives Data Map can be likened to a treasure map easily. The Data Map graphically illustrates what can be found in the Finding Aids (or Catalogue)  about all the records in the Archives or in a particular Collection. It aims to show all the various functions and activities that allowed for the records to be created in the first place.  So if each Office has particular functions, for example; the Office of Finance is responsible for financial matters, then there will be specific activities that relate to those functions.  Those specific activities will give rise to transactions/relationships/events that are documented in various types of records.  Those records, will therefore be a reflection of the functions of the Creating Office, and will document the activities or transactions created over time.  In other words, if the function of Office of Finance is to manage the financial affairs of the university, expect to find records on tuition fees, properties, and accounts as part of the various activities as well as transactions that represent the core duties of that Office. Archival ‘cataloguing’ then is done according to the way the records were created, used and maintained, under the principles of Provenance and Original Order. So, we keep materials from various offices, in the separate campuses, accordingly, even though they may actually relate to other offices, units or functions.

Some Data Maps on display in the Archives Hallway

At The UWI Archives, a tradition has emerged that signals to staff, researcher and visitor, that there is a new Collection or Fonds of Records that have completed the cycle of archival processing and are now available for public consultation.  Once a Collection has been finalised, a Data Map is designed, printed and mounted in the hallway. A celebration of completion and a guide to visitors about the types of materials in our holdings as well as a tool for researchers to visualise record-connections and contexts.  These details always deepen the mystery, enrich the journey and enrich the ‘discovery’. All data maps are about ensuring all users find their ‘treasure’. After all, we–the staff of the Archives–have been preserving and securing these records all along.

The UWI Archives is the official repository for ALL UWI Records, with particular emphasis on the Records of the University College of the West Indies (purple), the Open Campus (orange), The Mona Campus (red) and the Vice Chancellery (green). The Archives also include Records and Materials that are Related  (mauve) to official records, such as the Records of the United Theological College of the West Indies or Papers of prominent professors and personalities.

Our newest data map depicts the record-relationship of all 4 campuses of the University and its administrative hub, the Vice Chancellery and these are differentiated by Colour.  The records are all related and inter-related.  Thus the work of the various committees in the Office of Administration, inter-relate with others from the Office of the Campus Registrars, and Office of Vice Chancellor.  The records in the Vice Chancellery relate directly to all the four (4) campuses, as the decisions and protocols define and impact on how The UWI is managed and operates.  The Related Records section is also very peculiar as this Sous -Fonds (sub group of related materials) of various collections are connected and inter-related with the main working of the University generally and specific campuses and academic departments in particular.

UWI Archival records about the Lyssons Beach property

View of the Lyssons Beach

UWI Lyssons Beach

UWI Community enjoying the Beach

There are some records series (or groups) that no longer exists in the same way  those records were created–even though the particular function or activities are still being carried out by other offices or creators. For example, since 2014, the Office of the Deputy University Registrar, which had responsibility for university ceremonies no longer exists, even though the functions and activities   are still being carried out by a Senior Assistant Registrar in the Office of Administration, and the same type of records are still being created–albeit by another officer or sub-unit. These records are intimately related to the records of the University Singers (a student society) that performed at nearly all university ceremonies and events in Jamaica and around the Caribbean. The correspondence between the offices of the Deputy University Registrar and the Director, University Singers, illustrate the inter-connection between various roles and offices and responsibilities.

Confused yet?  How about this: Each Campus and the Vice Chancellery have similar committees, sharing the same names and mandates, but having different reaches. So while the University Finance and General Purposes Committee (UF&GPC)–which is a sub committee of University Council–having decision-making-impact for the entire university, the Campus F&GPC’s reach is specific to that campus. Yet, at least two (2) campuses have their campus F&GPC minutes kept at The UWI Archives, in addition to having the UF&GPC records preserved here as well.  In order to maintain the value of each of the records of these decision-making bodies, we have to ensure that their provenance is secured, in addition to the keeping the records in the order that they were created, kept, used and maintained.

The First Installation on Princess of Athlone as Chancellor of the then University College of the West Indies, in the open air at Mona, February, 1950.

There are also some record groups that are specific to particular time periods in the university’s history. The Minutes of the Provisional Council for the University College of the West Indies (1947-1957) detail the foundational years of the university’s administration, while the  College Senate Minutes (1948-1958) document the decisions on academic formation, the development of faculties and departments, and student life and activities in the then fledgling university. Even though theoretically these records were part of the now defunct University College of the West Indies (UCWI), they still relate to the daily life of the 70 year old university.  Another fine example of this phenomenon are the records of the Extra Mural Studies Department, the oldest academic unit in the university–having been formed in 1947–among the 1st decisions of the Provisional Council of the UCWI. Yet, those records are directly related to the youngest and 4th Campus: the Open Campus. The philosophy, protocols, practices, and even centres established by the early Extra Mural Studies department inform the work of the Open Campus.

Some archival files bearing new reference code labels

Boxes relabelled and Strong Room shelving numbered

Sample of Citations to Honorary Graduates of the UWI.

Matriculation Registers through the years…

Sketches for proposed Academic Dress for the UWI.

Reel magnetic recordings of UWI events and personalities

I can go on and on: The Papers of the distinguished first West Indian Professor  (of Education) John Figueroa are interconnected to the records of the then Faculty of Education, which now forms part of the Faculty of Humanities and Education.  The records of the United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI) are related to the Faculty of Arts and General Studies, now Humanities and Education. The UTCWI was one of the first Colleges and Institutions affiliated to The UWI in accordance with Ordinance 15, of the Royal Charter of The UWI.  Treated as the UWI’s Department of Theology, the records of the UTCWI are related to the records of the now Faculty of Humanities and Education as well as the entire university community.  The scholarship of the UTCWI’s 1st West Indian president, Rev Dr Horace Russell, a luminary in Caribbean Theology, distinguished researcher and author, are related to other distinguished academic works that emanated from the Faculty of Social Sciences.  The recordings of early Carol Services in the audio visual collection (Library of the Spoken Word) from the now defunct Radio Education Unit are related to the records of the University Singers, who actually sang at the various events, which are related to the records of the then University Registrar’s Assistant Registrar that organised chapel events  with the Chaplaincy and the Chapel Committee, which are reflected in their respective records: and all these are records  form the University Archival holdings, and can be found here at the University Archives.

Mr Green processing a VHS tape

Lyons and Green transferring records

Mr Kwasi Tinglin with LPs of Bob Marley

Ms Lyons & Mrs Moseley-Barrett (of the Office of Administration) processing Committee Minutes and Papers

Mr Green and Mr Tinglin cleaning and reshelving boxes in the Strong Rooms

Mr Mock Yen unloading new accessions upon arrival at the Archives

If an archives staff member was trying to add the latest record acquisition to its accurate provenance grouping or if a researcher was trying to find a particular decision (referred to as Minute), then there is a definite need for a Map: a Data Map.  This Data Map then will enable easier ‘cataloguing’ as well as promote better or deeper research, as themes and connections are visually illustrated and the foundation for  fully described and accessible archival collections are clear.

Dr Griffin reviewing the new Archives Data Map

And so this is where my role and tenure as the Assistant Archivist/Officer-in-Charge at The UWI Archives ends. Wendy Duff and Allyson Fox’s article, “‘You’re a Guide Rather than an Expert’: Archival Reference from an Archivist’s Point of View” points to the challenge many archivists face in seeking to promote and provide access to their precious treasures.  When  I first came to the Archives in 2010, I had to learn fast to be that “Record Expert”, linking research needs and ideas to creating offices to particular records and then hand delivering those records to users. Fast forward to 2018, we now have four (4) Archives Assistants and an active–and growing Regional Online Database (see link here: uwi.edu/archives), where we now serve as “Record Guides”. allowing users to make connections and see linkages between their research ideas and themes and our holdings. While this database is still developing, it has certainly enriched user research experience and broadened our user base. Any researcher using the Archives have access to both paper records and audio visual recordings about the same themes! Not many Archives can boast of such rich inter-format connections.

Dr Griffin processing the collection

Dr Griffin giving undergrads a tour of the Strong Rooms and showing our archival treasures

Archives Staff dealing with a minor mould outbreak…

Dr Stanley Griffin and Dr Suzanne Francis-Brown discussing Archives and the importance of “Keeping the Record Straight”!

Dr Stanley Griffin checking on the treatment of pest-infested files…

Dr Stanley H. Griffin with the Mona Campus Matriculation Register, 2001.

Dr Griffin conducts a tour of a visiting group of students from another university

I am grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to contribute to the development of the UWI Archives from its most basic paper-manual stage to the fully automated operation it is today. Now that our staff are Guides, the treasures are even more accessible to wider audiences and available for broader research uses.  I am proud of the relationship we have with the Creating Offices in the Vice Chancellery, Mona Campus and Open Campus (our primary target clientele) as well as the Mona Campus Records Management Office, Registry Records Services and Records Centre. Through the high quality work of our Records Management Colleagues, the enduring value of the records that make their way to the Archives are sound and secure. I am also grateful for the rapport and interconnection with the Campus Records Managers and Archivists of the other three campuses.  The UWI is 1 University and that ‘oneness’ is a central theme found in all the records starting from 1947.  The UWI Archives is a vital expression of the University Archives and Records Management Programme. All that is done as part of records management impacts on our work at the Archives.

The archival records of the University are primarily the product of the University’s administration  and our work is as integral to the Administrators as we are invaluable to their decision-making process. I too want to commend the University Museum, a unit with the privilege of interpreting the university’s records in the greater narrative that is The UWI.  The relationship with the University’s Libraries, particularly at Mona, is also something to be proud of. We provide essential archival storage to several of their collections and they share in providing access to our audio visual materials. Long may this relationship be mutually respectful and collaborative.  Finally, the Archives is interconnected with the Mona Campus’ academic functions, primarily the Department of History and Archaeology and the Department of Library and Information Studies, particularly through their new BA Information Studies and MA Archives and Records Management programmes.  The UWI Archives is as much a teaching facility, as it is an Administrative unit as well as an operational Archives.  Long may this continue and develop!

Some students with a cross-section of archival records…

Two researchers in the University Archives

New Undergraduate students visit the Archives as part of the “First Year Experience” programme…

Students from the Department of Library and Information Studies doing a quick search for their names and signatures in the Matriculation Registers…

Every good Map, with trained guides, erases the need for an expert, and so I leave The UWI Archives confident that the treasures of the University will not remain buried and unused, but more importantly, accessible and all the more valuable to the Caribbean.

Thank you! I wish the UWI Archives well!!

Bless,

Stanley H. Griffin, PhD

Finding value: What should we preserve?

In the midst of these UWI 70th anniversary celebrations we decided to share one of our ‘raison d’être’, our reason for being UWI Archives. Last time we explored “Why preserve?”, now we review a few considerations for deciding “what is preserved”. Preservation is an integral part of Archival work, where select records are identified to possess permanent value -James O’Toole, 2000

Why not begin reviewing “What is Preservation?”

Preservation:

Is the professional discipline of protecting information materials and extending the life of cultural property.

Can be defined as ‘all managerial, technical and financial considerations applied to retard deterioration and extend the useful life of (collection) materials to ensure their continued availability’.

Is any preventive measures that can considerably extend the useful life of collections, and are usually much more cost-effective than interventive measures taken to remedy damage after deterioration has taken place.  -British Library Prevention Advisory Centre

Is the obligation to protect records as well as the act of keeping from harm, injury, decay, or destruction, especially through non-invasive treatment. 

“Broadly encompasses those activities and functions designed to provide a suitable and safe environment that enhances the usable life of collections.” -Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, 1993

 

Materials that can be appraised for preservation

“Materials created or received by a person, family, or organization, public or private, in the conduct of their affairs and ‘preserved’ because of the enduring value contained in the information they contain or as evidence of the functions and responsibilities of their creator, especially those materials maintained using the principles of provenance, original order, and collective control; permanent records.” -Definition of archival record, Pearce-Moses

Some considerations for appraising ‘What will be Preserved?’ 

• Archival Appraisal is the process of identifying and selecting materials with permanent archival value and determining the ones that will be ‘accessioned’ into the archival institution
• Archival Appraisal is NOT about monetary value.
• Appraisal is about selecting, as far as possible, a “Representative Record of Society” (Gerald Ham)
• Appraisal often takes place within a larger institutional collecting policy and mission statement.
• Appraisal is a core professional activity of an Archivist

• The ability to decipher the ‘values’ of records, not just on its own merit, but more so within the CONTEXT of its creation and use.

 

Some Issues to consider when Selecting records: 

1. The volume of records: Can you/institution handle the size of the fonds (entire body of records created, used and maintained), both in terms of storage and staff capacity?
2. The importance of the ‘informational content’: What information/details does this fonds offer?
   • Can this information/materials be found elsewhere? How unique are the materials/content?  Who (users) will find this content/materials useful?
   • Will it complement other archival collections? (according to Institutional Mandate/mission?)
3. Preservation Needs: Do we have the appropriate storage conditions? Can we afford the wherewithal to preserve it?
   • Archival Boxes? Acid-free paper? Polyethylene enclosures,
   • E-records: Server space/Software? AV Tapes: playback machines/Tape Repair?
   • Conservation Needs?
4. Access Issues: Can we provide access to the materials? Data Protection/FoI/Privacy/Copyright Issues?
   • Conditions of Access: Can all of the Fonds be made available? Open upon description or at end of period of restriction?
5. Intellectual Control: What rights will the Archives/institution have over the materials? Any restrictions on how the materials could be used? Photography allowed? What resources are needed to provide access?
6. ‘Loss Test’: Would the world/society/family miss this fonds/information/materials if it were to be “lost”?

In today’s world preservation is not limited to records with value to institutions or organizations, the National Archives at College Park in the USA shares tips on preserving family archives usually consisting of photographs and papers.

Excerpt from UWI Mona Library​ |  April 24-26 2018​  Preservation Awareness Week​ Presentation by Stanley H. Griffin, PhD​

In today’s world, why preserve?

As we continue our celebration of this 70th year milestone, we look back at how we got here, through accessing the various records at UWI Archives. These records hold a significant slice of the history that informs us. Here are a few good reasons to say why we preserve records.

Humans have this need to remember.

“Because memory is fragile and malleable we have created surrogates that can attach memory to unchanging forms.  Artefacts, documents and even geographical places can serve to fix memory in time and place, so that it cannot change with new circumstances.” -Randell Jimerson

Randall Jimerson:

“Archival records and documents can convey emotional and intellectual links to people and events of previous eras.”

“Symbolically, documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution represent… freedom and self-government, concepts that help define our national identity and remind us of the struggles to achieve these goals”.

“Personal letters… provide vivid reminders of the hardships endured by our ancestors.  Such documents also reveal the complexity and variety of human experience, the emotional impact of public events on individuals, and the importance of knowing the past in order to understand the present”

Selected materials have Meaning

“Preservation, as well as conservation, is not an end to be automatically applied to archival material, but a tool which should be used selectively to ensure that the most essential core of our collective memory is passed down for others. Archivists know that they cannot save every document ever created, but we seem to often forget that likewise we cannot preserve in perpetuity every scrap of information that finds its way into the archives.” -Frank Boles, 2009

Archival preservation is geared towards access

Materials have enduring value

“Organizations and individuals have always kept records of their activities. Archives are those records that have been selected for on-going retention. The selection could be for many reasons. Some are selected because they are essential for understanding the history of an organization of family. Others may prove a person’s (or an organization’s) rights or entitlements. Other archives are selected and kept because they provide evidence in a broader sense, as they document the development of a nation or society’s economy, culture, natural or built environment or government…” -Jackie Bettington, et al |Keeping Archives 3rd Edition, 2006

Commitment to Care

“By judging some records to be permanent, archivists make a substantial commitment to them, a commitment of time and resources, a commitment that is intended to last well beyond the tenure or lifetime of any individual professional. From that judgement, a whole range of specific activities seems logically to flow.”  -James O’Toole, 2000

Preservation Is an integral part of Archival work

“The materials in archives are separated from the great mass of all records ever created and are marked for special attention and treatment because they possess what is frequently identified as permanent value. Whether by accident or design—and the distinction is at the heart of the modern idea of appraisal—certain materials are selected by archives for preservation into the indefinite future.”  -O’Toole

Excerpt from UWI Mona Library​ |  April 24-26 2018​  Preservation Awareness Week​ Presentation by Stanley H. Griffin, PhD​ 

 

So what does 70 years look like?: UWI Records at 70+

Some of the earliest records of The UWI, dating back to 1947, still kept and used in their original binding…

This year, 2018, The UWI celebrates its 70th Anniversary, under the theme “70 Years of Service, 70 Years of Leadership”. We, at the University Archives, have the custodial responsibility for managing every major decision, function and activity of this four campus regional institution. So what does 70 years of service and leadership look like?

These Bound Volumes and Indices detail the workings of Provisional University College Council, College Council, College Senate, College Finance and General Purposes Committee as well as several minor university committees.

The Archives of the UWI consists mainly of paper records, produced as part of the daily transactions of officers and decisions of committees, which through the auspices of sister-Records Management Offices, have been transferred to our custody. These records are both in files and bound volumes. Like all things created and used, paper records show the wear-and-tear of original office use, including paper-tears and (shoddy) tape repairs, as well as the fading of inks and ageing of paper.  The use, by researchers, over the years have also taken its toll.  In short, the early records of the UWI are starting to show its age and are in need of conservation (meaning, they need to undergo physical processes in order to prolong longevity). However, while it is our main task to preserve (that is, to create a most suitable environment for their long-term stability) these records, it is also our paramount duty to make these items accessible to users. Digitising these records would be the ideal way to provide greater access to the information, with less physical handling of the records.

Thankfully, we have expert help, right here in Jamaica! Our colleagues at the Jamaica Archives and Records Department (JARD) have the expertise and experience to do both: Conserve and Digitise!

Mrs Racquel Stratchan-Innerarity, Senior Archivist at the Jamaica Archives (JARD) with colleague heads of Conservation and Reprographic Units respectively about to start the conservation assessment.

The Jamaica Archives and Records Department (JARD) is the main governmental archival department with responsibility for “ensuring the efficient and effective management and use of official records/information, at all stages of the life cycle and to preserve those official and other archival records for current and future use, by the government and citizens of Jamaica, in order to strengthen national development.” JARD has three (3) Units – the Archives Unit, the Audiovisual Unit and the Government Records Centre, each playing a separate role to fulfil the Mission of the Department.

Archives Unit (Spanish Town)

This Unit is the main repository for the country’s archival collections, which dates back to the 17th century.  The holdings include records from local and central governments, statutory bodies, private collections as well as records from different religious organisations.  The Unit also houses facilities for the preservation and conservation of its holdings.  This is undertaken by the Conservation Section which consists of the Bindery and the Reprographic areas.  This section ensures the protection and preservation of records that are in a state of disrepair for future use and posterity using different conservation methods and microphotography.

In their recent visit, JARD staff assessed the quality and stability of the papers, inks, and bindings to determine how best to proceed with digitisation and conservation repairs needed.  Once the report is received, the University Archives will ensure that the decisions that made The UWI the noble institution that it is, will continue to be available and accessible in order to inform the next 70 years–and beyond!

 

The damage over time caused by adhesive tape

Reprographics officer checking on inks

Senior Archivist documenting conservation needs

Conservation Officer conferring with Reprographics Officer

Tape burns, which went through several pages

Archives Assistant Lyons checking out the process…

Happy 70th, UWI!

 

 

60 Years in Song & Movement: UWI Singers Celebrate Anniversary & Archives

The acclaimed University Singers is one of the best expressions of UWI life. Primarily a Student Society, the University Singers “is the leading choral group on the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) and among the leading choral groups across the Caribbean. In 1957, the group began with seven undergraduate students, who met for the sheer joy of singing. Today, the choir has a full complement of over forty members, comprised of undergraduate and graduate students of the University.” Known for their wide range and reach in repertoire, “From Mozart to Marley, Beethoven to Buju”, the Singers have amassed a treasure trove of music scores–including handwritten manuscripts, photographs, programme notes, brochures, ticket stubs, costumes, citations, awards and trophies, as well as audio visual recordings and administrative records.  All 60 years of music and movement were found  in cabinets and drawers in the Music Unit of the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts.

The UWI Singers processing during the 2014 Festival of Carols and Lessons, in Montego Bay, Jamaica

The Policy of the University Archives and Records Management Programme empowers the University Archives to accept materials related to the official records of the university, including archival records of “student and staff associations and societies”.  Driven by our mandate to acquire, preserve and maintain representative records of the entire university community, the staff of the Archives–with the consent of the leadership of the Singers Society, arranged for the transfer of the University Singers Collection to the Archives.

Archives Assistants Lyons and Green along with Dr Griffin meticulously removing music scores from the packed cabinets in the boxes for transfer

The Archives team working, in hushed tones, as Mr Noel Dexter, the esteemed former Director of the University Singers, work at his desk in the Music Unit.

Following three (3) working days of intense physical labour, the 50 linear feet (boxes) of records arrived at the Archives for processing.  The hard work of sifting through 60 years of multiple copies of sheet music, annotated notes, photographs, plaques and recordings started–an eight month archival processing project.

60 years of music and programme notes

Dr Griffin processing the collection

The photographic series of the University Singers Collection

The challenge of arranging and describing the University Singers Collection goes beyond simply listing each performance, or stabilizing the materials. The real aim was to capture the creative energies and context that is inherent on page, frozen in image, and recorded on tape. Museum Curator Dr Suzanne Francis-Brown captured this essence, during her recent work with the Singers in preparing for their feature celebratory Exhibition.

The University Singers have performed at all Ceremonial events for The UWI, including special Convocations, and Graduations, and have represented the institution in tours around the world, all evidenced in their records.  Moreover, the records not only speak to the performative worth of the choir, but are also of academic value–having informed several research papers and theses on Caribbean musicology, hymnology, and folk culture.

One of the several boxes containing the processed records of the University Singers

In short order, the University Singers Collection will be made available for research at the University Archives, a complementary collection of records and artefacts that illustrate the vitality of Caribbean music and culture in the student and ceremonial life of The UWI.

The Archival Data Map (in accordance with ISAD (G) illustrating the variety of materials in the Collection

The UWI Singers 60th Anniversary Exhibition is on at the UWI Museum during June-July 2018.

 

 

1960’s Black Struggle Conversation @ 34th Goveia Lecture

One of the perks of working in an archive is the interesting and stimulating conversations that simply just happen around you. Sometimes, we even go seeking out these conversations, in a manner of speaking of course. The Department of History and Archaeology had its 34th Elsa Goveia Memorial Lecture and invited Professor Brenda Gayle Plummer of the University of Wisconsin- Madison to give the address. Her address was titled “Pine and Palm: The Geography of the Black Struggle in the 1960’s North America”. 

 

Professor Brenda Gayle Plummer from a glance at a University of Wisconsin webpage with a brief bio… “is a historian whose research includes race and gender, international relations, and civil rights.“ 

 

 She has written essays and books focused on the Haitian experience, Haitian-American relations and Afro-Americans, race, and foreign affairs.  

The reference ‘Pine and Palm’ Professor Plummer reflects, was inspired by an 1861 Newspaper founded by Anglican minister Rev James Theodore Holly. This newspaper was a response to growing tensions in Canada and US, where free people of colour lived in difficult times and conditions left Canada and USA to resettle in the black republic, Haiti. Invited by Professor Matthew Smith, our audiovisual guru Sean Mock Yen attended and recorded this stimulating presentation.  

 

This documented memorial address is now one of the newest records added to the LSW audio collection and is available for your listening perusal.   

Learn more about Professor Elsa Goveia and the Memorial lectures in her honour: https://uwiarchives.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/did-you-know-the-elsa-goveia-memorial-lecture-series/ 

 

 

 

 

Working with our neighbours (IGDS-RCU)

 

The Institute for Gender and Development Studies–Regional Coordinating Unit has embarked on a interview series and the UWI Archives Media Lab has been charged with providing technical assistance.

Dr Blackwood-Meeks and Professor Palmer Adisa with Media Lab Team 

The first installment of this interview series conducted within the adapted recording space at the UWI Archives documented Dr. Amina Blackwood-Meeks being interviewed by Professor Opal Palmer Adisa. Dr. Blackwood-Meeks is a writer, performer and has been called “orator par excellence” by media doyen Alma MockYen. (Facebook post March 19, 2018).

Interest piqued…

One of our newer collections, the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts (PSCCA) collection, piqued the interest of our most recent user/researcher. The researcher, who hails from University of Michigan, is gathering data to complete her PhD thesis exploring performance arts in the Caribbean.

The PSCCA collection represents a slice of UWI’s foray in developing the creative imagination. It has numerous records that include correspondences, event programmes, photographs and conference recordings cross-referenced with the LSW collection.

Additionally she was very excited to find in our LSW collection recordings of the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) Anniversary symposium in 1982. These focused on the contribution of the NDTC to the culture of Jamaican Dance featuring talks from dance luminaries such as Jackie Guy, Ivy Baxter, Barbara Requia, Dennis Scott, among others.

 

UWI Archives continues to encourage the use of the archives in generating new scholarship at home and abroad.

 

Celebrating two of our Stalwarts

UWI Archives is filled with the work of many amazing academics that have shaped their disciplines. Two of these stalwarts, whose works held in our collection we will highlight, are retired from teaching at the UWI but continue to contribute to  student development in numerous ways.

Dr Carolyn Cooper is retired professor of literary and cultural studies at the University of West Indies who energized Cultural Studies with unparalleled insight and flair. She bridged the multiple scholarly domains and reached the wider public with her work in cultural studies. Cooper initiated the University’s Reggae Studies Unit and led in the shaping of the Cultural Studies discipline. She has provided unmatched advocacy for cultural consciousness and eloquently epitomizes Jamaica’s cultural expressions. In her weekly Sunday Gleaner column she translates into the Jamaican language for her blog, Jamaican Woman Tongue. Dr Cooper has written and presented extensively on cultural politics. Scroll below to see a summary of select presentations by Dr Cooper held at UWI Archives

Dr Verene Shepherd retired from the department of history at UWI as professor of social history and was later appointed the university director of the Institute for Gender & Development Studies. She is currently the director of the Centre for Reparation Research. She has had a long association with the women’s movement and a track record of research on gender issues. She continues to be one of the most vocal advocates of Reparation for African descendants around the globe but in particular in the Caribbean. Dr Shepherd is the host of “Talking History” on Nationwide 90 FM and was the first woman to chair the Board of Trustees of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (2006-2007). She was also instrumental in ensuring that Lucille Mathurin Mair’s path-breaking PhD thesis, “A Historical Study of Women in Jamaica,” written in 1974, was finally published in 2007. Dr Shepherd has presented numerous public lectures.  Scroll below for a summary of select presentations  by Dr Shepherd held at UWI Archives.

Both Dr Cooper and Dr Shepherd are UWI graduates who transitioned into internationally renowned UWI academics. Happy International Women’s Day 2018.

Archival items featuring presentations by Dr Carolyn Cooper

Cooper, Carolyn	“Performance Criticism” the video version of “Noises in the Blood”	Arts & Cultural Studies (Rasta:Roots:Reggae:Dancehall)	1995, Dec 8
Cooper, Carolyn	Pre-Twentieth Century Jamaica Popular Song: Representation, Race& Gender	Arts & Cultural Studies (Rasta:Roots:Reggae:Dancehall)	1993, Mar 12
Cooper, Carolyn	Bridges of Sound-Crossing over from Reggae to Rap and Back	Arts & Cultural Studies (Rasta:Roots:Reggae:Dancehall)	1996, Sept 13
Cooper, Carolyn	“Nah Vote Again: Representation of Governance in Jamaica Popular Culture”	Arts & Cultural Studies (Rasta:Roots:Reggae:Dancehall)	2002 ,Sept 13
Cooper, Carolyn	“From Reggae to Ragga: Whats Left of the Protest” (# 1 in Reggae Seminar Series)	Arts & Cultural Studies (Rasta:Roots:Reggae:Dancehall)	1994, Nov 18
Cooper, Carolyn	Carl Bradshaw on “Dancehall Queen”, Dr. Carolyn Cooper on “Countryman” Reggae Seminar Series	Arts & Cultural Studies (Rasta:Roots:Reggae:Dancehall)	1999, Mar 9
Cooper, Carolyn	Launching of ” Noises in the Blood” at PSCCA	Book Launch	1994, Apr 29
Cooper, Carolyn	Professing Slackness: Language, Authority and Power Within The Academy and Without, Inaugural Lecture	2003	25-Sep-03
Cooper, Carolyn	Book Launch: Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large	2005	19-Apr-05
Cooper, Carolyn	2000 AD And Beyond Lecture Series – “More Fire” Chanting Down Babylon From Bob Marley to Capleton” 4th Annual Bob Marley Lecture	2000 & BEYOND, UWI Lecture Series, 2000-2003	9-Feb-01
Cooper, Carolyn	2000 AD And Beyond Lecture Series – “More Fire” Chanting Down Babylon From Bob Marley to Capleton” 4th Annual Bob Marley Lecture	2000 & BEYOND, UWI Lecture Series, 2000-2003	9-Feb-01
Cooper, Carolyn; Gutzmore, Cecil	17th Annual Conference on West India Literature	Language and Literature	1998, Apr 6
Cooper, Carolyn;	4th Annual Bob Marley Lecture – “More Fire” Chanting Down Babylon From Bob Marley to Capleton”	ROBERT NESTA (B0B) MARLEY COLLECTION	9-Feb-01
Cooper, Carolyn; Devonish, Hubert	The Indian Experience In The Caribbean incle. Jamaica,	Arts & Cultural Studies (Caribbean Cultural Focus)	1995,Oct
Cooper, Carolyn; Hutton, Clinton	Folk Filosofi: From The Cross to The Throne:Rastafari in the New Millenium –	Arts & Cultural Studies (Caribbean Cultural Focus)	1999, Aug 16
Cooper, Carolyn; Pollard, Velma	Society for Caribbean Linguistics 13th Biennial Conference –	Language and Literature	2000, Aug 16
Cooper, Carolyn; Ryan, Selwyn; Joseph, Cuthbert, Boxill, Ian; Brewster, Havelock	CARICOM 3oth Anniversary Conference on Regional Governance and Integrated Development – Panel 2 – CARICOM: Reconceptualising the Community – Reconciling Individual and Collective Exercise of Sovereignity	2003	October 17-19, 2003
Cooper, Carolyn; Scott, Nerissa; McKenzie, Claude; Howard, Dennis	4th Don Drummond Series Wake Di Town and Tell di People, Tribute, Presentation, Vote of Thanks from Professor Stephen Vasciannie	2003	10-May-03

 

Archival items featuring presentations by Dr Verene Shepherd

Shepherd, Verene	Inaugural Lecture – The Ranking Game: Discourses of Belonging in Jamaican History	History	12-Apr-02
Shepherd, Verene	Inaugural Lecture – The Ranking Game: Discourses of Belonging in Jamaican History   Tape 1 of 2	History	12-Apr-02
Shepherd, Verene	Inaugural Lecture – The Ranking Game: Discourses of Belonging in Jamaican History   Tape 2 of 2	History	12-Apr-02
Shepherd, Verene	War Memorials and Black Liberation: ‘Groundings’ With Walter Rodney on History, Heritage and Activism, 6th Walter Rodney Memorial Lecture	WALTER RODNEY Lecture Series, 2004	25-Nov-04
Shepherd, Verene et al	Reparations In The Continuing Debate – Rupert Lewis, R. Gregory, D. Beckford, Wilmot Perkins, and V. Shepherd	History
Shepherd, Verene; Anderson, Lesley; Despestre, marco	LACC one-Day Symposium – The Haiti   – Jamaica Connection   Tape 3 of 4	2004	3-Apr-04
Shepherd, Verene; Augier, Roy; Campbell, Carl	New Books Seminar – “The Story of Jamaican People”, Tape 1	History	13-Mar-91
Shepherd, Verene; Lewis, Rupert; Warner-Lewis, Maureen	Department of Government Class Presentation ‘A Case For Garveyism in School   Tape 1 of 2	MARCUS GARVEY COLLECTION	11-Mar-99
Shepherd, Verene; Lewis, Rupert; Warner-Lewis, Maureen	Department of Government Class Presentation ‘A Case For Garveyism in School   Tape 2 of 2	MARCUS GARVEY COLLECTION	11-Mar-99
Beaubrun, Matthew; Shepherd, Verene	The Socio-Economic and Cultural Impact of Migration Between the Anglophone Caribbean and the Republic of Colombia – LACC Seminar, Tape 2 of 7	2003	July 9 – 11, 2003
Edward, Cox; Lewis, Rupert; Shepherd, Verene	Conference on “Caribbean Intellectual Traditions” Tape 3 of 9	Arts & Cultural Studies(Caribbean Cultural Focus)	1998, Oct 31
LeoRhynie, Elsa; Hall, Kenneth; Henry-Wilson, Maxine; Shepherd, Verene	Gender in the 21st Century: Perspectives, Visions and Possibilities (Mona Academic Conference) Keynote Address by Hon. Mia Mottley, Performances by Irvine Hall Drama Club and University Singers, Overview of Work of CGDS by Prof. Barbara Bailey, Tape 1 of 10	2003	August 29-31, 2003
Massiah, Joycelin,; Antrobus, Peggy; Shepherd, Verene	Gender in the 21st Century: Perspectives, Vissions and Possibilities (Mona Academic Conference) “Feminist Scholarship and Society” and “Feminist Activism and Society” etc. Tape 3 of 10	2003	August 29-31, 2003
Samaad, Marianne; Shepherd, Verene	National Reparations Conference Opening – Redressing the Injustic: Repairing the Damage –   With Submissions From the Floor Tape 1 of 3	2003	22-Feb-03
Shepherd, Verene	Inaugural Lecture – The Ranking Game: Discourses of Belonging in Jamaican History	History	12-Apr-02
Shepherd, Verene	War Memorials and Black Liberation: ‘Groundings’ With Walter Rodney on History, Heritage and Activism, 6th Walter Rodney Memorial Lecture	WALTER RODNEY Lecture Series, 2004	25-Nov-04

 

Image reposted courtesy of a International Women’s Day Tweet. Thank you @emilymsheilds

 

GUEST POST: Sir? Do you have anything on ‘Ethnocentrism’? — UWI Museum

Sir? Do you have anything on ‘Ethnocentrism’? by Dr Stanley H Griffin, UWI Archives The privilege was mine to oversee the UWI Museum during the recent absence of the Curator. One of the ‘duties assigned’ was to look out for and guide undergraduate students taking the Caribbean Civilization aka Carib Civ Foundation Course. Their assignment was […]

via GUEST POST: Sir? Do you have anything on ‘Ethnocentrism’? — UWI Museum

UWI Archives shares content with BBC

BBC World Service has been streaming a six-part documentary looking at six moments where music and identity seem to be inseparable. The documentary series looks at the music and the meaning, talking to the people who shaped the music and the response to the music. It also examines the cultural, political and economic context of the music and how that has changed along with society. In part 5, the Music of Time series visits Jamaica, West Indies and explores how music interacts with the tides of history in Jamaica.

In this visit to Jamaica the programme looks at music through the decades. From drumming during slavery, to 1970’s reggae, dancehall through the 80’s and 90’s, right up to a modern day reggae revival. The programme explores how the sounds of this Caribbean island have shaped its’ people and politics. It also touches on its rich commentary on the lives of Jamaicans and its roots in resistance to oppression. As ethnomusicologist Dennis Howard says, in Jamaica, “Music is more than for enjoyment. It is as part of our existence.”

The Music of Time from Kingston, takes you on a guided tour with Dr. Carolyn Cooper sharing an examination of the interactions between music, identity and social change at key points in history of Jamaica. Dr Cooper talks to major stars like Beenie Man and King Jammy plus we hear a remarkable recording of the controversial Vybz Kartel, who is now in jail. There are contributions from Peter Tosh’s former manager Herbie Miller, reggae writer David Katz, former Miss World Lisa Hanna, now an MP, who reveals how musicians help keep Jamaican politicians accountable.

 

Dr Carolyn Cooper initiated the Reggae Studies Unit at the University of the West Indies and is the author of two influential books on Jamaican popular culture. Dr Cooper is retired professor of literary and cultural studies at the University of West Indies and guides listeners through this exploration of Jamaican music and its voiced resistance against oppression.

 The UWI Archives is proud to have shared archival audio content from our Library of the Spoken Word collection as well as facilitated recording of key elements of the programme. The documentary is available for listening on BBC iPlayer for a limited time ending March 5, 2018.  Adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csvnyh