The Atlanta University Center is fortunate to be home to both the Spelman College Archives and the Robert W. Woodruff Library (RWWL) Archives Research Center. Earlier in October, GLAM held our third Faculty Development Workshop of the fall semester on partnering with the archives at the AUC. Spelman College Archivist Holly Smith and RWWL’s Public Services Archivist Tiffany Atwater Lee led an informative discussion on collections held by each institutions and ideas for incorporating archival materials into coursework at the AUC.
Holly Smith and Tiffany Atwater Lee explain the importance of incorporating archives into the curriculum.
Participants learned about the history and collections of Spelman and RWWL’s Archives in addition to the special services that each institution offers to faculty. To illustrate the dynamic ways archival materials can be brought into the classroom, Ms. Smith and Ms. Atwater Lee discussed assignments prepared in consultation with AUC faculty as well as past collaborations with institutions outside of the AUC. Spelman has collaborated with Emory University on the course, Writing Themselves Into Existence, which focused on black women writers and both Spelman and RWWL have collaborated with Georgia State University on the course Going Steady: Documenting the History of Dating in American Culture, 1940-1990.
Faculty and RWWL librarians learn about using archival materials in the classroom.
If you’re an AUC faculty member interested in incorporating archival materials into your classroom, reach out to us for a consultation. To collaborate with RWWL’s Archives Research Center, contact Tiffany Atwater Lee at tatwater@auctr.edu or GLAM’s Museum Education Curator at mdodd@auctr.edu. For more information on the Spelman College Archives, contact Holly Smith at hsmith12@spelman.edu.