UCASIS pre-conference meeting: Archivist as Educator, a presentation by James Roussain

UCASIS pre-conference meeting: Archivist as Educator, a presentation by James Roussain

Join UCASIS for a pre-conference presentation by James Roussain, followed by a UCASIS end-of-year business meeting.  

Emerging over the last 10 years, the concept of the archivist as educator has begun to redefine the professional identity of the archivist. This reorientation demands that archivists be not only the keepers of records but also the ones able to aid others – by way of teaching – in the interpretation of the records under their care. However, despite a growing literature supporting the role of archivists as teachers, there remains a hesitancy within the profession to self-identity as such. Presenting an overview of recent scholarship on the topic, this talk will discuss the concept of the archivist as educator and its implications. To offer a springboard for future discussion, this talk will present a case study, using a for-credit semester-long course taught by an archivist as an example of engaging students in active learning with the express goal of improving both their primary source literacy and their archival literacy.  

Bio  

James Roussain is the currently the Interim Head of Public Services at the John M. Kelly Library. James completed both his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree, majoring in Book and Media Studies and Indigenous Studies, as well as his Master of information degree at the University of Toronto specializing in archives and records management. James is currently pursuing a Master of Education degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) in the University of Toronto. 

James is a past president of the Archives Association of Ontario (AAO) and the Toronto Area Archivists’ Group (TAAG). He has served on committees with the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) and is a dedicated member of the archival community. 

Selected Publications  

Roussain, J. (2020). Pedagogue in the Archive: Reorienting the Archivist as Educator. Archivaria, 90, 70-111.

Roussain, J., & Vong, S. (2020) From researcher to curator: Reimagining undergraduate primary source research with Omeka. In C. Young & E. A. Wilson (Eds.), Quick Hits: Teaching with the Digital Humanities (pp. 78-87). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.